THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has urged the public to make greater use of its Hotline 136, saying the agency has adopted response time targets to provide faster assistance to motorists and commuters across Metro Manila.
MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III told The Manila Times on the sidelines of Thursday’s forum held at a Quezon City hotel that the agency “aims to answer Hotline 136 calls within five rings, dispatch personnel within five minutes after a request for assistance is received, and resolve traffic-related situations within another five minutes.”
The service guarantee is part of MMDA’s effort to improve public confidence in government services, said Torre, a former Philippine National Police chief.
“Our service guarantee is, we answer you in five rings. We are with you in five minutes, and we resolve traffic situations in another five minutes,” he reiterated.
The MMDA’s “chief operating officer” said the agency wants to assure the public that every request for assistance would receive a response.
“Our position is that whenever someone reaches out, there will be someone on the other end. Whenever someone is in need, help will come. And when our people get there, they will do what needs to be done for you,” Torre said.
Despite the service commitment, Torre said Hotline 136 receives only about 80 calls a day, a relatively low figure considering Metro Manila’s population of around 14 million.
He attributed the low call volume partly to a lack of public trust in government services.
Torre said the MMDA is intensifying information campaigns and encouraging the public to test the hotline to demonstrate the agency’s capability to deliver on its response commitments.
Hotline 136 serves motorists and commuters on Metro Manila’s major roads under the MMDA’s jurisdiction, including EDSA, C-5, Roxas Boulevard, Commonwealth Avenue and Quezon Avenue, among others.
ARLIE CALALO
