12 MMDA enforcers on chopping block

Twelve traffic enforcers of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will soon be removed from the agency after they were found using illegal drugs.

MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said six of them will be automatically dismissed from the agency since they are on the job order status.

The six others would have to undergo proper and legal procedure before they are put on the chopping board because their employment status is either on regular category or contractual status, Garcia told the media.

He said the discovery of the illegal activities of the 12 traffic enforcers came after a drug test was done from May 22 to 24 on orders of MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim.

The 12, whose names were withheld by the official, remained positive for drugs after a confirmatory test was done.

The drug test was held in connection with the anti-drug campaign of the Duterte administration.

Also, Lim wants to ensure that MMDA is a drug-free government agency.

Meanwhile, the plan to ban provincial buses from plying Edsa on rush hours will start on August 1, instead of July 15.

Garcia revealed this after the MMDA and the provincial bus operators came up with the compromise to re-schedule the Edsa ban project of the agency.

Under the agreement, provincial buses are not allowed to pass the stretch of Edsa from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The route of the buses that will come from the northern part of Luzon will end in Cubao area in Quezon City while those coming from the South will end in Pasay City.

According to Garcia, this plan will surely help address the traffic problem since the number of provincial buses traveling on the whole of Edsa would be reduced to 6,000 from 8,000 during rush hours.

He added all provincial bus companies are mandated to abide by the MMDA plan because it was based on the agreement between the agency and the bus operators.

The dry run of the project is slated on July 23.