SIMULTANEOUS operations conducted by the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) and the City Transportation Office last Sunday and Monday, May 26 and 27, 2019, resulted in the issuance of 860 temporary operating permits (TOPs) to traffic violators.
Majority of the TOPs, or 308, were issued to motorcycle drivers who were caught wearing slippers, followed by 165 TOPs issued to motorcycle drivers who were not wearing helmets. The rest was for drivers not wearing seatbelts (52), not having their driver’s license (28), having expired registrations (26) and other violations not mentioned in the report.
The joint team also impounded five motorcycles and five trisikads.
Police Captain Arieza Otida, public information officer of the CCPO, said they conducted the operations to ensure smooth traffic flow in congested areas and to minimize road crimes and incidents during the opening of classes next week.
“This is part of our preparations for the upcoming opening of classes. We are making sure that the traffic is smooth sailing for the students, especially now that there are already plenty of vehicles on the streets,” she said in Cebuano.
Otida said that aside from the police personnel manning the road traffic, the CCPO will also deploy personnel to various police posts and view decks in the vicinity of schools and universities.
Police personnel have returned to their regular duties after the elections, she said.
She said they’ve also raised police visibility in various department stores and other stores in the downtown area where parents buy school supplies for their children.
Otida called on parents to be extra careful and to take responsibility for their belongings while in public places.
Since last May 26, all police personnel from Cebu City’s 11 police stations have been rendering at least two hours of traffic duty during rush hour. They will continue to do so until Monday, June 3. (WBS)