MMDA eyes higher fines on jaywalking

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Friday announced that it is eyeing to double the P500 fine and requiring an additional seminar for jaywalkers along EDSA and C-5.

MMDA acting chairperson Atty. Don Artes said consultations would be made before fully discussing the proposed penalty increase but for now, some interventions for jaywalking have been implemented, particularly on EDSA.

"If you can see near our headquarters, we have already placed a sample. In our concrete barrier, we have even placed a wire mesh so that it will rise, about 3 feet of that wire mesh," Artes said.

To recall, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos also suggested higher fines for jaywalking during a meeting of the Metro Manila Council.

"I was passing by there. I noticed, especially at Guadalupe, there were people who are really crossing. It's dangerous," Abalos said.

"The issue here is human life, the life of the crosser. As long as you're on a motorcycle, it's dangerous because if you brake you can hit the road. You'll really avoid it. So we're trying to avoid this," he added.