BACOLOD City – Several drivers in the city complained that personnel from the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO) are not issuing“citation tickets” upon impounding vehicles.
This prompted Councilor Dindo Ramos, chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on transportation, to schedule a meeting with BTAO head Superintendent Luisito Acebuche.
Aside from the complaints, Ramos said his meeting with Acebuche will also discuss other matters regarding the implementation of City Ordinance (CO) No. 09-17-818.
CO No. 09-17-818 establishestow-away zones on various streets in Bacolod, allowsthe impounding of vehicles through the issuance of impounding receipts and provides penalties for erring motorists.
BTAO and the Bacolod City Police Office’s Traffic Management Unit are stepping up their operations against “colorum” vehicles – especially tricycles – in the city, thus a series of impounding.
But according to the drivers, the traffic enforcers and the police are not issuing citation tickets when impounding a vehicle, which Acebuche also confirmed.
In a separate interview, Ramos said BTAO personnel cannot issue citation tickets because the ordinance states that they must issue “impounding receipts.”
Ramos, however, failed to distinguish the two.
Under CO No. 09-17-818, unregistered vehicles plying the city, those displayed on the road for sale, vehicles of driver’s without license or with expired licenses, unregistered motorized tricycles for hire, and “colorum” public utility vehicles must be seized.
Storage fees range from P150 a day for the first and second months, P300 a day for the third and fourth months, and P450 a day for the fifth and sixth months, the ordnance stated.
Administrative penalties will be imposed on drivers who violate the provision of the ordinance. For“colorum” operations, a P5,000 fine will be imposed while for motorized tricycles, a P2,000 fine./PN
