ILOILO City – The City Legal Office (CLO) upholds the city ordinance that authorizes policemen and traffic enforcers to confiscate driver’s licenses of erring motorists.
However, it made some recommendations and these included a legal option in the event the traffic violator refuses to surrender his/her driver’s license.
According to the CLO, the traffic enforcer will make a report to the CLO within the day. After the lapse of the 48-hour period given to the erring driver to pay the fine as stated in the traffic citation ticket, the immediate filing of the appropriate case in court will follow.
The CLO issued on Tuesday, May 30, its legal opinion sought by Mayor Jerry P. Treñas after the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a legal opinion conforming to the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) memorandum stating that local government units have no authority to confiscate driver’s licenses.
But with the CLO opinion, the city mayor maintained the city government will continue implementing Regulation Ordinance 338.
“As long as there is no decision declaring the ordinance unconstitutional, we proceed with the implementation,” he said.
CLO’s Legal Opinion No. 36-2023 states that “with due and much respect to the Secretaries of the DOJ and DILG, there is no conflict between Section 29 of Republic Act No. 4136 and Section 1 of Iloilo City Ordinance No. 338, s. 1992; the latter is meant to supplement, not supplant the former. Thus, until and unless Iloilo City Ordinance No. 338, s. 1992 has been declared as unconstitutional and invalid, the Iloilo City Government is duty-bound to enforce and implement the same.”
Section 1 of Regulation Ordinance No. 338 empowers city policemen and traffic aides to issue traffic citation and confiscate driver’s licenses.
Meanwhile, Section 29 of Republic Act No. 4136 provides power for law enforcement and peace officers of other agencies to confiscate driver’s licenses for any violations of the said act or any regulations issued or of local traffic rules and regulations not contrary to any provisions of the said act.
Other recommendations of the CLO are the following:
* The Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) will continue to enforce Regulation Ordinance No. 338 consistent and harmonious with other laws regulating traffic laws, both national and local;
* Traffic enforcers to require drivers to surrender his/her license pursuant to Regulation Ordinance 338; failure to do so has corresponding legal consequences;
* PSTMO to provide a report to the Land Transportation Office regarding violations of the driver;
* Parallel request to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the deputization of the city’s qualified traffic enforcers;
* Coordination between PSTMO and the Philippine National Police for assistance and visibility to protect the enforcers from any untoward incidences during apprehensions; and
* The need to pass an ordinance for the wearing of body cameras for traffic enforcers to record particular events during the apprehension to be used as evidence against the erring driver./PN
