MMDA committed to safeguard kids going back to school in August

A Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) executive expressed the agency's commitment to protect children that will be traveling to school as the country prepares for the resumption of face-to-face classes in August.

During the celebration of the National Safe Kids Week held at the MMDA Traffic Academy, MMDA Traffic Discipline Office (TDO)-Enforcement Head Atty. Victor Nuñez said the organization will conduct a meeting with the school administrators, Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA), and local traffic bureaus in the National Capital Region to discuss road safety checks in school zones in preparation for the academic year 2022-2023.

“Let me emphasize that road safety is a shared responsibility. We will ensure that enforcement of traffic laws, in constant coordination with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), Land Transportation Office (LTO), and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), are in place to keep tabs on motorists to protect the safety of vulnerable road users,” he was quoted as saying.

Aside from that, Nuñez noted that there is an ongoing repainting of pedestrian lanes within the immediate vicinities of schools in Metro Manila.

To note, the MMDA has a Children’s Road Safety Park in Adriatico, Manila to help children better understand road safety and traffic discipline.

For his part, Transportation Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor noted the importance of raising awareness to all road users and implementing road safety interventions. “Our primary advocacy is to strictly enforce existing road safety laws. Children go out of their houses and take public transportation to go to school. Hence, we have to protect them as we embark on the full implementation of face-to-face classes,” Pastor said.

Meanwhile, LTO Law Enforcement Service Deputy Director Roberto Valera highlighted the importance of enforcing road safety laws. “A strong, sustained, and highly-visible enforcement is needed to prevent road crash incidents involving children,” he stressed.

Photos from Metropolitan Manila Development Authority

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