NO DOUBT indiscriminately parked vehicles contribute to the worsening traffic situation in Metro Cebu and the entire province.
Majority of roads on the eastern seaboard have only two lanes. So when half of one lane is occupied by a parked vehicle, the situation automatically affects traffic flow.
This must be why Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 Director Victor Caindec has asked the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas for authority to allow LTO personnel to tow vehicles parked on the national highway, which stretches 232 kilometers from Bogo City in the north to Santander town in the south, and to adopt an integrated law enforcement system.
Violators will settle their fines with the local government unit (LGU) in whose jurisdiction they had committed the violation. If they don’t, the LTO will not renew their driver’s license and vehicle registration.
Caindec said this is their way of helping LGUs and taking up the challenge of President Rodrigo Duterte for “LTO’s services to be more responsive to the public’s needs.”
During his State of the Nation Address on July 22, 2019, the President issued an order to clear public roads of obstructions.
Last July 30, the Department of the Interior and Local Government reminded that Duterte’s order covers all LGUs. The day before, DILG Secretary Eduardo Año issued Memorandum Circular 2019-121 setting a deadline of 60 calendar days for all LGUs to address the problem.
“Within 60 calendar days, significant results must be achieved, documented and reported together with the efforts of the LGUs to sustain the same,” the directive states.
But what happens when the obstructions are caused by law enforcement agencies like the Philippine National Police?
The streets beside and in front of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 headquarters become impromptu parking spaces at certain times of the week, resulting in traffic on Osmena Blvd. Are these vehicles excused from Duterte’s directive?
And what about vehicles that occupy sidewalks? Will these not be towed?
How can Duterte expect the public to heed his order if agencies tasked to implement it don’t?