163 impounded vehicles await Labella’s release order

CEBU, Philippines — At least 123 motorcycles and 40 four-wheeled vehicles impounded at the South Road Properties (SRP) are waiting to be released once mayor-elect Edgardo Labella will assume office weeks from now.

Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) Head Francisco Ouano said the office is just waiting for a memorandum or order from Labella for the release of the vehicles impounded for counterflowing.

“We will just wait for an order for the release of these vehicles,” he said.

Ouano said he was told about Labella’s plan to lift the executive order imposing the 30-day impoundment of vehicles caught counterflowing.

On February 2, 2018, outgoing Mayor Tomas Osmeña signed and issued Executive Order No. 34 declaring reckless driving pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act 4136 (Traffic Code of the Philippines), City Ordinance No.801 and other existing traffic rules and regulations nuisance per se, providing sanctions thereof and for other purposes.

Section 3 of the EO provides the sanctions and penalties against violators. Among the sanctions is the impoundment of vehicles for 30 days as “corrective measure.”

Since the implementation of the EO, the CCTO has impounded over 8,000 light vehicles, motorcycles, trucks, and buses in a warehouse at SRP.

Even before he unseated Osmeña in the May 13 midterm elections, Labella is against the gravity of the penalty of counterflowing.

Labella earlier labelled the EO as “anti-poor.”

Labella said he will let the CCTO implement the traffic rules, including the anti-counterflowing policy, but the vehicles will not be impounded.

He said the city should follow the penalties stipulated in the Traffic Code, which only states that those caught counterflowing will be issued with citation ticket or temporary operator’s permit and be fined of not less than P1,000.

“It would be unfortunate if, after a promising start, the campaign for road discipline flounders because it could not stand legal challenge,” Labella earlier said. — KBQ (FREEMAN)