Saturday, August 16, 2008 Council increases fee for traffic incident report
THE Cebu City Council approved last Wednesday a 1,650 percent increase on fees for police reports on traffic accidents, which is required of motorists when they claim insurance payment.
What used to be just a P20 payment for the report, considered a miscellaneous fee, is now P350.
The increase was made upon the request of the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).
In endorsing the increase, Citom argued that the City spends considerable amount in sketching the scene of the accident and investigating it, and issuing police reports.
The adjustment was first proposed in 2005, when former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 Director Rogelio Osmeña was the Citom acting chairman.
Osmeña had said that imposing higher fees would encourage two parties in a minor accident to simply settle the case among themselves, without involving traffic enforcers.
This way, he said, the enforcers’ tasks are lessened and traffic congestion is minimized since it doesn’t have to take long for the vehicles to be removed from the street.
Accidents, no matter how minor, usually cause traffic jams because the vehicles are left in the accident scene until a traffic enforcer arrives and makes a sketch.
Average
In an interview, Citom’s Manuel Tagaan of the records section said they release an average of 20 incident reports a day.
As a consolation, however, the council still kept police report fee for purposes other than those involving traffic accidents at P20.
In proposing the increase, City Councilors Sylvan Jakosalem and Raul Alcoseba said “a considerable amount of money may be incurred” from making the sketch of the scene, investigation and the issuance of an incident report.
The amendment will take effect 15 days after the ordinance is published in a newspaper.
Another proposal that motorists may have to contend with in the future is the charging of a P200 fee on travel lines, which define the official routes of public utility jeepneys (PUJs).
It is issued by the City Government for free at present, and includes travel lines certification and sticker. The City shoulders the expenses for the special type of paper used in printing and for lamination. (RHM)
