BY CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
Bacolod Councilor Dindo Ramos has authored a resolution requesting the Bacolod City Police Office director through the Office of the Mayor to consider designating the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) head as concurrent head of the Traffic Management Authority (TMU).
Ramos, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Transportation and Traffic, said yesterday that the TMU is not under the city government. So, they cannot designate or appoint the TMU head but only the BCPO director.
Therefore, they are requesting if the BTAO and TMU could be headed by only one police officer so there will be synchronization and coordination of efforts, he said.
Ramos said he is concerned that if the head of the BTAO is different from the head of the TMU he will have difficulty enforcing traffic rules and regulations. As had been practiced in the past, the TMU and BTAO are both headed by the same person.
The TMU has police functions and can investigate traffic incidents and assist traffic enforcers in case they get assaulted since they have no firearms. It implements national and local traffic rules, he said.
Meanwhile, the BTAO only implements local ordinances and could be headed by a civilian designated by the mayor, Ramos said.
The resolution was addressed to BCPO director P/Col. Thomas Joseph Martir, he added.*
