Open letter to PPPO

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

 

WE had wanted to update our readers this week on the status of the war on drugs in the province but a new bureaucratic policy at the Pangasinan Police Provincial Office prevented us from doing so.

We asked for an update on drug-free barangays in towns and cities in the province, updated numbers of drug personalities that surrendered, (which has the most and the least), recent accomplishments of Double Barrel and Operation Tokhang in towns and cities, but we were told that to get the information, we have to write a formal request to Provincial Director Ronald Lee. Ah, ok.

It seems, under the FOI rule, what were routinely available as information to the public now require formal letter requests, at least with the PPPO.

At any rate, below is our open letter required of us, this time asking for more comprehensive information –

Dear PD Lee:

May we respectfully request for data available in your office that will update the province on the status of your activities in the ongoing war on drugs in the province, particularly:

1. Which 10 towns and cities recorded the highest and lowest number of drug-free barangays?
2. Which 10 towns and cities registered the highest and lowest number of drug personalities that surrendered?
3. How many drug personalities have surrendered as of December 31, 2016?
4. From among those who surrendered, how many were drug pushers?
5. How many listed drug pushers are still wanted and unaccounted for in Pangasinan?
6. How many police personnel have died or were wounded in Double Barrel operations?
7. How many and which towns/cities remain drug-free as of December 31, 2016?
8. How many police chiefs have been replaced for poor performance in the war on drugs?
9. How many Barangay Anti-Drug Advisory Councils remain inactive as of December 31, 2016? Which are these?
10.  How many ‘Deaths under Investigation’ were listed of December 31, 2016?  How many have been solved?

Your early response to our questions will enable local governments and communities to make their own assessment of the progress of the war on drugs in the province.

Thank you, I remain

Very truly yours,

ERMIN F. GARCIA, JR.

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HORRENDOUS TRAFFIC. It seems the Dagupan City government and its POSO erred to believe that the installation of traffic lights will be the silver bullet to keep traffic in the city moving smoothly.

In fact, some motorists are beginning to believe that the traffic lights are the source of the gridlocks never seen before.

But hey, fair is fair. Motorists must credit POSO’s efforts for doing a yeoman’s job notwithstanding it’s constraints, particularly inability to cope with sudden surge in number of vehicles and people using the city’s main roads and streets.

Nonetheless, it was a mistake to believe that the use of traffic lights alone will alleviate the situation. From the experiments conducted, I could tell POSO did not have the luxury of working with scientific data to support its strategy, neither did it attempt to learn and adopt the basic principles of what keeps traffic moving.

POSO personnel, in fact, can be more effective than the traffic lights if they are better trained and supported by on-the-ground real time management backed by basic principles.

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ONE WAY STREET CITY.  The most basic universal principle is to adopt a ‘One- Directional’ traffic approach, with less intersections that stop flow of traffic.

This strategic principle worked well for Makati City. The city’s traffic managers studied and established ONE-WAY streets, dismissing what’s convenient as access to motorists and pedestrians alike, retaining only few major intersections.

In Dagupan, the major choke points clearly are the intersections at A.B. Fernandez Ave. corner Rizal St.; Herrero St. corner-M.H. Del Pilar Road and Perez Boulevard; (Tondaligan) Dagupan-San Fabian Highway corner Paras St.-Boquig Road.

POSO should already bite the bullet and

• Establish a one-way traffic direction in the city. This means consider making Rizal St. a one-way street from A.B. Fernandez Ave. to Perez Blvd (and open up Galvan St. as exit point); Herrero St., a one way street from Perez Blvd to A.B. Fernandez Ave.
• Allow only left turn from Mayombo to Perez Blvd. to help decongest traffic volume on A.B. Fernandez Ave.

At the Bonuan Tondaligan intersection, establish a one-way entry to Tondaligan from ‘Barracks Road’ along the Dagupan-San Fabian Highway and exit on Paras St.; Vehicles from Boquig Road should only turn right and be allowed to make a U-turn 100 meters away from the intersection.

In all instances, vehicles are able to proceed without need to stop just to allow vehicles to cross from Rizal St. to A.B. Fernandez Ave., vehicles to cross from Herrero St. to Mayombo, and vehicles crossing from Boquig Road on Dagupan-San Fabian Highway.

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But traffic experts will tell you that those alone don’t guarantee free flow.

Unless the city’s main roads are restricted to light vehicles only during the day, humongous PUBs and trucks will continue to hamper movements of light vehicles.

Designated loading and unloading zones are useless unless manned by strict POSO personnel. 

Then there is the acute shortage of free and open sidewalks around the city. Pedestrian lanes only help direct traffic for crossing streets. The continued illegal occupation of sidewalks by establishments and vendors force pedestrians to walk on the streets, preventing smooth flow of vehicular traffic. Will the city hall have the political will to chase away the vendors?

Also, the city does not need the LTO to impose discipline on the streets and roads. The revival of the towing and tire-locking policies can greatly help create awareness for need to be disciplined.  It should apply to all (including tricycles and motorcycles) that are illegally parked. The issuance of traffic violation fines to residents through official notices should be adopted without prejudice to filing of cases for failure to comply.

Only the use of CCTV cameras in all intersections will provide real time on-the-ground effective traffic management. The POSO supervisor’s main function will be to manage daily flow of traffic from a vantage point, not by being physically present in one area just to direct stop-and-go traffic.

After all is said and done, political will always be the critical factor.

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