The Mandaue City Traffic Enforcement Agency (Team) has mandated a five-day refresher course for its entire roster of over 200 field personnel to address public grievances regarding corruption and improper conduct.
Retraining Program Details
Team head Hyll Retuya stated the training covered proper apprehension procedures and ethical boundaries, while the city administration warned that personnel caught engaging in extortion will face immediate termination from service. The program ran on June 22, 23, 24, 29 and 30, with personnel split into five batches to ensure uninterrupted traffic management across the city's 24-hour, three-shift operations.
More than 200 field enforcers out of the agency's total roster of over 400 personnel completed the course, which included both newly hired and veteran enforcers to establish uniform discipline standards. “We have conducted a refresher course purposely for all of our field personnel, including our mobile and clearing teams,” Retuya said. “It composed of five batches all in all, because we needed to ensure everyone was covered without paralyzing our traffic operations on the road.”
Curbing Extortion and Misconduct
Retuya said public grievances against traffic enforcers prompted the training, which targeted proper citizen-approach protocols, correct apprehension procedures, and strict ethical boundaries. The city administration took a hardline stance against extortion, locally known as kotong, which plagues relationships between traffic enforcers and motorists. The city administrator sat in during the five training sessions and presented video evidence of past corrupt practices as a deterrent.
“We discussed this thoroughly to prevent incidents, particularly cases of extortion,” Retuya said. “At the very least, we want to warn our personnel that this is one of the top things they must absolutely avoid while out in the field. Our city administrator even sat in during those five sessions and showed actual footages of violations to warn our personnel against following bad examples.”
Internal Discipline and Public Complaints
The retraining also tackled secondary infractions such as enforcers driving over road gutters and violating basic traffic laws. Retuya expressed disappointment over reports of enforcers using official motorcycles for personal errands, such as picking up students in uniform. “We are carrying the name of Team, our department and the Mandaue City local government unit,” Retuya said. “We do not want the reputation of this administration to be tarnished. Enforcers must not commit these acts, especially using government resources like official motorcycles to transport children who are still in uniform.”
The agency is actively investigating complaints received through the 8888 hotline and direct submissions, resulting in the previous dismissal of several erring traffic enforcers following investigations backed by citizen evidence. “We will absolutely not ignore these reports,” Retuya said. “When citizens send complaints, especially those backed by strong evidence, we take immediate action. In fact, some have already been dismissed from the service and removed from the department.”
Retuya also noted that Mandaue City has not experienced violent incidents against its enforcers, unlike a recent case in neighboring Cebu City where a motorist struck and ran over a traffic enforcer. “By God's grace, we have had no such incidents here,” Retuya said. “And hopefully, we never will, because the job of our traffic enforcers on the road is highly dangerous.”
