Incoming mayor plans to proceed with Mabilog projects

Following the car accident over the weekend along Diversion Road in Iloilo City’s Mandurriao district, which left one couple killed, Iloilo City Mayor-elect Jerry P. Treñas assured he will take all necessary measures to ensure fatal car accidents “will no longer occur.”
He called the incident “avoidable” and said he plans to proceed with the intelligence transport system, a project implemented by former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who fled the country in 2017.
The P25 million project was put on hold by Mabilog’s successor, outgoing Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III, who said it lacked a comprehensive study into the city’s traffic situation.
“I want to really look at it [from the] perspective [of] practicability, acquisition of equipment,” he earlier explained. “It is a big amount kag basi wala man may mabulig sa aton traffic (It is a big amount and it may not help our traffic situation).”
In addition, Espinosa wanted a feasibility study conducted.
Treñas also said he would like assistance from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) as a means of improving traffic in Iloilo City.
A 2017 study by the Boston Consulting Group found Metro Manila had the third-worst traffic situation in Southeast Asia behind Bangkok, Thailand and Jakarta, Indonesia. They also projected the city to reach “standstill levels,” or a situation where vehicles operate at less than 10 kilometers per hour, by 2022./WDJ