The Highway Patrol Group is a police unit under the Philippine National Police (PNP) who supervises traffic-related crimes and its management.
History
The Highway Patrol Group was established as Traffic Control Group (Trafcon) in 1955 as a response to a high-profile vehicular accident along a highway in Pampanga, now known as the MacArthur Highway. The accident which occurred on November 4, 1954, which killed House of Representatives members Gregorio Tan of Samar and Lorenzo Ziga of Albay. President Ramon Magsaysay urged the Congress to establish a "specialized and dedicated" police unit to maintain road traffic safety across the Philippines.[1][2]
The Highway Patrol Group returned to EDSA in 2015 and was tasked to enforce traffic laws due to worsening traffic conditions in the Metro Manila thoroughfare at the time. This is to augment MMDA traffic constables and LGU enforcers. The HPG last patrolled EDSA in 1994.[3]
Organization
As the Traffic Control Group (Trafcon), the unit was under the Philippine Constabulary.[1] It later became part of the Philippine National Police. The HPG has Regional Highway Patrol Units under it.[4]
Role
The Highway Patrol Group is a highway patrol with a national scope. It is tasked to enforce traffic safety roles and provides general supervision to local police forces with regard to the enforcement of traffic laws. It also provides assistance to the Land Transportation Office, formerly the Bureau of Land Transportation. The HPG furthermore also enforces driver's licenses and motor vehicle registration and regulations with regards to public carriers.[1]
Directors
References
^ a b c"HPG: A Brief History of the Highway Patrol Group". Retrieved November 11, 2021.
^"The Highway Patrol's 63rd anniversary". Manila Standard. May 10, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
^ a bCupin, Bea (September 6, 2015). "Can the police fix EDSA traffic?". Rappler. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
^Caliwan, Christopher Lloyd (February 17, 2021). "HPG impounds almost 1.5K vehicles in latest ops". Philippine News Agency. Retrieved November 11, 2021.