CEBU, Philippines — Standing by its previous statement, the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) showed it does not favor anyone, even officials of the city government, when enforcing traffic rules.
A Facebook post of North District Councilor Edgardo “Jaypee” Labella II trended online when he shared that his government service vehicle was clamped while parked outside his residence in Barangay Mabolo.
“Patay Sayuha sa Buntag oi. Nakalimot mi sulod sa Sakyanan..Session pa Gyud ko karun..huhu,” Labella’s post reads.
He commended the CCTO for “doing their job.”
“In order for us to achieve Singapore Like we should have Discipline walay Pili..Kudos To our CCTO personnel for doing their Job,” the councilor said in a separate Facebook post.
He then posted a photo of the receipt as proof that he paid a fine of P1,500 for the violation.
In previous interviews, CCTO Executive Director Paul Gotiong assured they do not favor anyone and that there have been times when government vehicles got clamped for violating traffic rules.
Gotiong said it is important to have the roads cleared so that emergency vehicles will not have difficulty passing through when they respond to incidents.
The strict enforcement of traffic rules is among the actions the city is undertaking in achieving its vision of a Singapore-like Cebu City.
Inspection
Meanwhile, the City Council requested the CCTO and Prevention, Restoration, Order, Beautification and Enhancement (PROBE) Team to inspect roads regularly, including those in the mountain areas, and strictly implement City Ordinance No. 801 and other pertinent laws, to ensure that no illegal on-the-road car wash businesses are being operated, conducted, and tolerated, which might affect public safety.
Councilor Renato Osmeña, Jr. sponsored a resolution on the matter, which the council approved.
Osmeña said manual car wash services, including self-service motorcycle wash businesses, have become a common sight in the city.
He said it has been observed that daily incidence involving motorcycles and four-wheel vehicles parked illegally along the roads, both in urban areas and mountain barangays, is on the rise.
“The washing of motorcycles and vehicles along the road poses danger to the unsuspecting motorists passing by the area who are at risk of figuring in an accident due to the wet and slippery roads caused by the soap and other chemicals used for scrubbing and cleaning the vehicles,” Osmeña said.
“It goes without saying that public roads are beyond the commerce of men, and it is therefore improper and illegal to set up commercial car wash services and conduct the cleaning of vehicles along the roads of Cebu City which impede the free flow of traffic,” he added.
With this, the council also directed CCTO and the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) to conduct tax mapping to check if these car wash services are operating with business permits.
Section 7, Article XIV of CO 801 or “An Ordinance Establishing a Traffic Code for the City of Cebu" states that no person shall park a vehicle upon any roadway for the principal purpose of (2) washing, greasing or repairing such vehicle except repairs necessitated by an emergency. — Mary Ruth R. Malinao, JMO (FREEMAN)