AN ESTIMATED 800 owners of impounded vehicles in Mandaue City will benefit from a proposed ordinance that seeks to lower penalties for impoundment.
Councilor Jimmy Lumapas, chairman of the committee on transportation, authored Ordinance 211-2023 granting relief and/or amnesty to owners of the impounded vehicles from the payment of the accumulated storage fee.
The 800 are the remaining unclaimed of the 1,000 vehicles in the impounding section of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) office in Barangay Centro since May 22, 2023.
At least 149 have already been released, according to Hyll Retuya, legal head and the new admin head of Impounding Section of Team on May 31.
Retuya said some vehicle owners chose not to redeem their vehicles due to the many requirements that they have to comply with.
However, should the proposed ordinance be passed, owners of the impounded vehicles will be given three months to claim their units.
For public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, they need to be evaluated for their previous traffic violations before they could claim their vehicles.
If the proposed ordinance is passed, for vehicles impounded from January 2020 to December 2022, the penalties will be at P1,000, including total storage fee, towing fees, and surcharge, and the amounts reflected in the traffic citation ticket.
The ordinance already passed through the first reading last May 22 before it was forwarded to the city council’s committee on laws. The second reading will be held during the council’s regular session on Monday, June 5.
Several vehicle owners expressed support for the proposed ordinance.
Gregg, 34, a habal-habal driver from Barangay Alang-Alang, said he can now redeem his motorcycle which was confiscated in December 2022 due to its expired registration.
Gregg said he stopped working after that and took care of their two children, while his wife worked in the mall as a saleslady.
Raymond Dolorido of Banawa in Cebu City visited the Team office on Wednesday, May 31, to inquire on how he could get his motorcycle, which was confiscated on Tuesday, May 30, due to a lack of registration.
“Lisud kung way motor magamit nig trabaho (It’s difficult going to work without a motorcycle),” Dolorido said.
Retuya said 95 percent of vehicles impounded are private vehicles. The rest are PUVs.