Friday, September 28, 2007 Councilor bares attempt to muddle PBO execution
COUNCILOR Erwin Plagata in his privilege speech during the City Council regular session Thursday revealed attempts to mess up the final implementation of the Perimeter Boundary Ordinance (PBO).
He did this by presenting a copy of a "fake" traffic ordinance produced by several culprits to affected transport groups.
The ordinance labeled “Traffic City Ordinance 132, Series of 1978” was showed to have been altered.
The ordinance was dubbed as "an ordinance regulating the route operation of provincial and city public utility buses and jeepneys in Iloilo City and providing penalties in violation thereof."
The PBO prohibits the entrance of provincial public utility vehicles in the city to ease the traffic flow.
A proof of its fakeness was the provision in Article X that states, "All Public Utility Jeepneys with sign route SM City-City Proper shall pass from Diversion Road (SM City), proceed to Benigno Aquino Avenue, (turn) left to University of the Philippines to General Luna going to Iznart to Plaza Libertad to Iznart to Delgado to Infante and back to SM City."
Plagata said it is obvious the ordinance is not genuine because “SM City was only existent sometime in the 90's.”
Another article that was inconsistent with the genuine ordinance was that in Article 11, Section D, the word Metro Iloilo Development Council (MIDC) that consists of the towns of Leganes, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Oton was mentioned.
He said the MIDC was only formed by the mayor last 2002.
Plagata said it is clear that the offenders, who might be offended by the original PBO themselves, wanted to mislead the public and disrupt the preliminary implementation of the PBO by providing copies of the tampered ordinance to provincial transport groups.
When asked where he got a copy, Plagata said he acquired it from a certain Atty. Melgaval Tolentino, counsel for the New Alliance of MIDC Transport Operators.
But Councilor Antiquiera said he does not know anyone with the name under the roll of Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Iloilo Chapter.
It was recalled that Atty. Tolentino was the said counsel of the MIDC group during a public hearing on the implementation of the PBO. (JDB)
