The Bacolod City Council approved on the third and final reading an ordinance creating the Bacolod Traffic and Transport Management Department (BTTMD) in the city.
The ordinance was authored by Councilor Al Victor Espino, chairperson of the City Council committee on traffic.
Espino said the urban development in Bacolod City is continuously and rapidly increasing, and in line with this, the traffic flow in the city is also increasing, both on public and private roads.
He said well-developed and efficient city traffic and transport management shall bring comfort and convenience to the general public, and most importantly, it shall bring safety and security to the constituents.
To identify and resolve traffic flow in Bacolod, he added that there were several task forces or offices created that need to be institutionalized, considering that their functions are vital to the maintenance of public safety and traffic management in the city.
“It is highly recommended by the executive department to consolidate and institutionalize the aforesaid task forces or offices into one general department, and the recommendation is given considerable weight in the creation of offices under the executive department,” Espino stressed.
Espino noted that under Section 454 of Republic Act 160, the City Council is empowered to create such other offices as may be necessary to carry out the purpose of the City Government.
Section 3 of the proposed ordinance stated that the Bacolod Traffic and Transport Management Department shall have an administrative division, special services division, and transportation and planning division.
The head of the BTTMD will be under the City Mayor’s Office with Civil Service Career (CSC) Professional Eligibility, a graduate of a four-year course with five years of relevant experience and 32 hours of relevant training, and not a member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) or other government offices or agencies that are not under the direct control and supervision of the City Mayor’s Office.
The personnel of Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) shall be subjected to CSC rules and regulations and shall conform to the qualifications and standards set for and as defined by the Human Resource Development Office, it further stated./MAP
