TRAFFIC violators in Mandaue City have a grace period of seven working days to settle their violations to avoid arrest.
Edwin Jumao-as, executive director of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team), advised motorists who have committed traffic violations to pay their pending penalties to avoid being issued a bench warrant.
Team’s data as of May this year had shown that only 10 percent or 600 of 6,000 traffic violators have settled their violations, Jumao-as told reporters on Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Jumao-as said motorists who failed to settle their penalties within seven days after being issued traffic citation tickets would be issued summons from the Mandaue City Prosecutor’s Office.
Violators can settle their traffic citation tickets (TCC) at the Team’s office located near the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.
Jumao-as said traffic violators will be charged for violating the City Ordinance 35-2016, which mandates compliance with traffic rules and regulations, before they will be issued a bench warrant.
Their vehicles will also be impounded if they still continue to ignore Team’s warnings, Jumao-as added.
Also, under the ordinance, violators will be blacklisted by the National Bureau of Investigation once they process their driver’s license for renewal.
The TCC, inclusive with the fine, is issued by traffic enforcers after catching motorists who committed traffic violations while driving.
However, all of these will be lifted once the erring motorists settle their fines.
The fees collected will be used to improve Team’s services.
One of the reasons violators often neglect to settle their violations is that they take for granted the validity of the TCC.
“Violators often neglect their penalties because they are only issued a TCC, unlike when they are given TOPs (Temporary Operator’s Permits) in exchange for their driver’s license that is deemed confiscated,” Jumao-as said.
Some of the usual traffic violations are illegal U-turn (a violation that carries a fine of P500), and disregarding traffic signs, obstructing the road or parking on undesignated spots (for each of these violations, the violator is fined P1,000).
“We should strictly enforce these penalties and put teeth into our policies because if we do not, these violators will still commit violations. We need to make them learn their lessons and obey traffic rules,” Jumao-as said. (HIC / TPT)