Back to chaos for Dagupan City?
Posted on May 18, 2007 - Filed Under General |
DAGUPENOS woke up morning after the elections to realize the bizarre and stunningly immediate implication to general order and cleanliness in the city of the election loss of City Mayor Benjamin S. Lim to Speaker Jose C. de Venecia in their gigantic, take-no-prisoners battle for the fourth district congressional seat.
Many city residents quickly observed chaotic traffic in the main thoroughfares as early as Tuesday afternoon, day after the May 14 polls, as public utility drivers merrily began ignoring traffic rules, especially on loading and non-loading areas, ignoring the few traffic enforcers of the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) on the road. Some drivers were shouting insults at POSO men saying their boss (Lim) is no more and that they were again claiming supremacy over city roads.
Under Lim, the POSO was created as a mainly traffic-enforcing unit under the general supervision of the city police and the city downtown traffic clogging was greatly minimized, earning praises for the city from both locals and visitors alike. POSO enforcers were thoroughly trained to ensure strict discipline among drivers plying city routes.
Sidewalk vendors whose indiscriminate occupancy of the roadsides and one main street, Galvan, beside the City Hall area in the past, were also reined in and taken away from the Galvan area to allow more pedestrian elbowroom and keep away pickpockets and snatchers taking advantage of heavy crowds.
The general cleanliness of the downtown area especially around City Hall was also markedly improved under the Lim administration.
With sidewalk vendors now descending to again occupy the Galvan road since late Tuesday – or as soon as the first indication of Lim’s loss to de Venecia became clear — garbage and overall disorder at the market area was back, exasperated marketgoers noted.
POSO men, unsure about their fate in a new city administration and fearful of a backlash if they confront the surging vendors and erring drivers have stayed away from their posts or looked on helplessly at the unfolding spectacle.
Comments
Leave a Reply