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BY MAE SINGUAY
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Tuesday, April 4, 2017
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BACOLOD City – Ignorance of the city ordinance prohibiting jaywalking will not save anyone from arrest and fines.
Some 330 jaywalkers were caught yesterday, the first day the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) strictly enforced City Ordinance (CO) No. 338.
Superintendent Luisito Acebuche, BTAO head, said the first offender was a foreigner, who was fined P100.
Most of the apprehended violators told the BTAO enforcers they were either unaware that the enforcement of the ordinance already started or clueless there was such ordinance at all, said Acebuche.
Majority of the violators were not residents of the city, Acebuche said.
CO No. 338, or the Comprehensive Traffic Management and Regulation Ordinance of 2003, regulates traffic, parking, towing, and other transporting or commuting activities on the streets of Bacolod.
Declaring jaywalking illegal, the ordinance defined the act as:
* crossing the street, thoroughfare or highway outside the marked crosswalk or pedestrian crossing, or underneath a pedestrian overpass, and in the absence of such mark, crossing the street, thoroughfare or highway except at the corner of the intersection as nearly as possible at the right angle perpendicular to the intersection;
* crossing the street, thoroughfare or highway even with the marked crosswalk or pedestrian crossing without conforming with the hand signal of the policeman or traffic enforcer assigned at the intersection or contrary to the signal by other device for regulating traffic;
* walking outside the sidewalk of a street, thoroughfare or highway so as to inconvenience, obstruct, hinder, or prevent free passage of vehicles; and
* walking at the center of the center island of a street, thoroughfare or highway so as to obstruct, hinder or prevent free passage of vehicles.
According to Acebuche, second- and third-time offenders will be fined P200 and P300, respectively, and in case they cannot pay upon apprehension, offenders shall render community service.
Among those apprehended yesterday, 14 rendered community service by cleaning the BTAO premises.
But CO No. 338 did not mention second- and third-offense fines. Section XIII (B) of the ordinance provides the following as penalties for jaywalking:
“1) One hundred pesos (P100), which may be paid outright by the apprehended violator at the place of the apprehension and upon the issuance of a Traffic Citation Ticket (TCT). For this purpose, the apprehended jaywalking violator who fails to pay outright the fine…shall be given seven days from date of apprehension to settle the same at the City Treasurer’s Office; otherwise, appropriate legal action shall be filed in the proper court; or
“2) Community service for not more than one (1) day. For this purpose, the apprehended violator who opts to render community service shall report to the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) and shall attend seminar/training on values and the importance of the Anti-Jaywalking Ordinance.
“3) Imprisonment of not more than three (3) days at the discretion of the court shall be imposed. Should the apprehended violator fail to comply with the penalties imposed under the two preceding paragraphs, a legal action shall be instituted against him or her in the proper court where imprisonment of not more than three (3) days may be imposed at the discretion of the court.”
All violators apprehended yesterday were at the downtown area. There was a time in 2012 when around 700 jaywalkers were caught in a day, Acebuche noted.
BTAO enforcers will be stationed on Lacson Street as soon as all pedestrian lanes have been painted, he said./PN
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