THE Mandaue City Government has started its clamping operation, going after trucks illegally parked along the city’s major thoroughfares.
Smaller vehicles are still exempt from the clamping due to proposed amendments to the City’s clamping ordinance, but violators will still be issued citation tickets by personnel of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team).
“Today, I instructed our operations head to start clamping only trucks since they are not included in our concern regarding the amendment of the clamping ordinance after a vehicle that had been clamped was damaged,” said Team head Florentino Nimor Jr.
The City Council is tackling a provision in the clamping ordinance that does not find Team liable if the wheels of a clamped vehicle are punctured during an escape attempt.
Team initiated its clamping operations along the North Reclamation Area (NRA) where trucks usually pass by.
The penalty for a clamped truck is P1,500, excluding pending citations.
Nimor said they have 10 clamps for trucks and large vehicles and 30 clamps for smaller vehicles. The clamps have a built-in function that punctures the wheel of the vehicle that attempts to drive away.
Nimor said they started focusing their operations against trucks as Mandaue is considered a gateway to heavy industries.
As of Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2019, no truck was caught in Team’s operation.
Meanwhile, the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) welcomed the move of the local government unit to clamp trucks that violate traffic rules.
MCCI president Stanley Go said there is no exception to the rules, especially if it is to decongest traffic in the city.
“We have to follow the rule of law. The traffic rules on ‘no stopping,’ ‘no parking,’ they are always there. Now if they have a strict implementation of the law, I have no qualms about it because everybody has to follow traffic rules and regulations,” he said.
Go said if the move will result in the free flow of traffic, it is for the better.
As of now, Go said, he hasn’t received any complaints from member companies of the chamber on the clamping of vehicles. (from ANV of Superbalita Cebu/JKV, JOB)