CEBU City Mayor Michael Rama wants traffic fines strictly imposed and compromise penalties scrapped.
The mayor said this during a Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) board meeting this week.
He wants Citom to exercise the full force of any traffic ordinance. If there is a penalty, it should be fully implemented, he said.
“Gusto ko nga kung dunay penalty, dili kanang mga discretion maoy ipatuman, para nako, kung naay warning, suspension, bayad, ipatuman gyud,” Rama said.
He told the Citom board to study traffic ordinances because he wants his administration to lead firmly.
He said he is not agreeable to a compromise penalty stipulated in most traffic ordinances because this can be abused.
The mayor asked Cebu City Transportation Office head Raffy Yap, Atty. Dominic Diño of the mayor’s office and City Administrator Jose Mari Poblete to review the most commonly violated traffic ordinances in the city.
Members
With the help of Citom chairman Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem and Citom executive director Arnel Tancinco, Rama expects board members to know where he stands on understanding the law’s importance.
The mayor clarified, though, he doesn’t want the penalty to be exorbitant or excessive that violators can no longer afford to pay the fines.
Harsh
“Obviously, if the penalty will now become so harsh, definitely, it is something that has to be also looked into,” Rama said.
Jakosalem said that since the mayor authorized him to sign the compromise penalty, he sees to it violators pay.
“Sa una man gud ma-release lang ang sakyanan nga wa gyud mubayad sa compromise penalty ang (It used to be that a violator’s vehicle was released without payment of the compromise penalty) driver or operator. Dili na na mahimo karon kay (but that’s no longer possible) we have been implementing a policy not to give them a free ride,” Jakosalem said.
However, they can give violators a 50-percent discount, based on the compromise penalty stipulated in the ordinance, he said.
He said the board will recommend to the City Council amending traffic ordinances if the mayor wants these scrapped.
One that comes to mind is the impounding of vehicles, he said.
He admitted that some violators seek the help of their barangay captains and city officials to have their vehicles released.