Truckers split over uprooting of Anda Circle monument

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AndaTruckers expressed opposing views on a government plan to relocate the Spanish-era monument at Anda Circle in Manila to make way for a new traffic system to ease passage through the area.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) wants to relocate the Anda Circle monument at the rotunda on Bonifacio Drive to Maestranza Park in Intramuros, Manila.

There have been plans to remove the monument since 2013 “to ease the worsening traffic condition in the area (caused by) the presence of trucks coming to and going inside the Manila South Harbor, Manila North Harbor, including the Manila International Container Terminal,” according to DPWH.

Integrated North Harbor Truckers Association president Teodorico Gervacio welcomed the plan, saying it will ease the bottleneck created by the rotunda. Gervacio said that trucks, to avoid accidents such as the toppling of container vans, traverse the rotunda more cautiously, slowing down traffic.

However, converting Anda Circle into a regular intersection would need “efficient traffic management,” he said.

Samson Gabisan, executive vice president of Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. and a truck operator, shared Gervacio’s view. He said he had proposed the removal of Anda Circle even before in order to ease the gridlock created by the rotunda and prevent trucks from executing a 45-degree turn that could be accident-prone.

The Confederation of Truckers Association of the Philippines (CTAP), however, has a different view.

CTAP president Ruperto Bayocot told PortCalls in a text message that the association does not agree with the removal of Anda Circle and will instead “recommend the removal of sidewalk vendors, jeepney terminals, and (implementation of the policy of ) ‘no parking anytime’” in that area.

In a letter to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, DPWH-National Capital Region regional director Reynaldo Tagudando requested the Manila City government to concur before it proceeds with the relocation.

Tagundando added that the proposed transfer of the monument was approved by Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. in a memorandum dated January 25, 2013. The same memo indicated that Dr. Maria Serena Diokno, chairwoman of the National Historical Commission, did not object to the transfer, Tagundando added.

The project involves replacing the rotunda with a concrete pavement on which traffic lights will be put up.

“The project is expected to ease the traffic gridlock being experienced daily in that particular area,” DPWH said.

The monument was erected in honor of Simon de Anda, who was governor-general of the Philippines from 1770 to 1776. The original monument was erected in 1871 near the Pasig River and, when heavily damaged during World War II, was moved to its present location along Bonifacio Drive, which was retransformed into a monument circle.