MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) — Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Thomas Orbos has been appointed as concurrent transportation undersecretary.

In a text message to Rappler, Orbos confirmed that he was appointed as undersecretary for roads and said that his new position will not be far from what he had been doing in the MMDA.

“Traffic concerns pa rin [naman] (It’s still related to traffic concerns),” he said.

As undersecretary for roads, Orbos’ will now extend his responsibility for traffic from just Metro Manila to the whole country.

On top of this, he said he was also appointed to head the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (i-ACT) which consists of the DOTr, the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group (HPG), Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the MMDA.

Given his additional duties, Orbos said he will focus on cementing the coordination between transportation agencies and local government units.

With regards to his i-ACT leadership, he plans to include the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the inter-agency as, according to him, “infrastructure is just as important as policy.”

Orbos is not new to the transportation and public service.

Under the Aquino administration, Orbos served as the Assistant General Manager of the MMDA.

When he took over, President Rodrigo Duterte retained Orbos in the MMDA. He was deisgnated as MMDA officer-in-charge after MMDA chairman Emerson Carlos left in July 2016, and led the agency for 8 months until the appointment of Danilo Lim as MMDA chief in May.

At the MMDA, Orbos introduced the no window hours policy, extending the number coding scheme include rush hour, and the light truck ban which barred some 3,000 light trucks from passing through major thoroughfares during rush hour. – Rappler.com