Tagbilaran now faces the challenge of catching up with the implications of the rising number of vehicles while still struggling to stabilize the manpower of the City Traffic Management Office (CTMO).

As reported by Gov. Edgar Chatto in his State-of-the-Province Address (SOPA) last Friday, the “number of registered vehicles in Bohol already increased by 14.5 percent”.

“Of course, this will also have traffic implications that we will need to address together with the city and municipal governments,” Chatto admitted.

Around 5,000-6,000 brand new cars are released every month by competing car companies, each attracting buyers through mark-downs in down payments by over P100,000.

Being the capital city of the province, Tagbilaran has to accommodate majority of these vehicles coming from the towns for transactions.

CTMO Head Tony Samante earlier admitted the city needs to hire additional traffic enforcers to replace those dismissed from service for either inefficiency or misconduct.

Even prior to the dismissal of the inefficient traffic enforcers, the CTMO already suffered lack of personnel to address the growing traffic woes.

Samante admitted undisciplined drivers contribute to the traffic woes.

With shortage of traffic enforcers to monitor traffic flow at every corner and intersections, undisciplined drivers disregard traffic signs.

Samante said these drivers take advantage of the absence of traffic enforcers in the vicinity to violate traffic rules.

Traffic signs are placed to guide the motorists, to supposedly complement the traffic enforcers.

However, motorists are just concerned of the penalties to avoid and absence of traffic enforcers means opportunity to avoid getting caught.

Samante expressed this frustration, though he continued to appeal to motorists to cooperate.

The city government has installed with countdown timers.

However, in intersections with only two lanes for each direction, the light for turning left or right serves no purpose as there is no third lane for the vehicles going straight.

Vehicles that are not turning left or right end up blocking the two lanes.

Also during rush hour, at the entrance of the City Hall, vehicles proceeding either from the ICM area or the J.A. Clarin St. from the Camp Bernido area after the signal light turns green are trapped at the entrance of the City Hall whenever vehicles coming from the City Hall compound have to be given way, and trapped again to give way for vehicles coming from Calceta St.

Multicabs-for-hire which have been allocated a waiting area at the parking lot at the public market across the ICM block a portion of the parking space for private vehicles in the area.

In some areas vehicles are parked within six meters from the corners of the streets.

Vehicles are again tolerated to park around the Shopper’s Mart area.