SOME 45 drivers of public and private vehicles in Cebu City have been issued a bench warrant by the court.
They failed to settle their obligations after being issued citation tickets by the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).
Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 1 issued the bench warrant.
Tumulak said Citom filed complaint against the 45 drivers after they failed to appear before them when they were summoned. Those issued a citation ticket are supposed to settle it within one week, he said.
Of the 45 drivers, Tumulak said, 42 are jeepney drivers.
He said they located one of the three drivers of private vehicles yesterday.
Tumulak said the driver, a 21-year-old college student who lives in Barangay Capitol Site, made a left turn on a “no left turn” area.
Citom, however, was not able to serve the bench warrant because the driver was not home.
“He probably never expected to get a bench warrant. Most of them think a citation ticket is just a piece of paper but they really do have to settle it,” he said in Cebuano.
Tumulak said the college student called him yesterday and vowed to surrender at the Citom’s office.
As for the other erring drivers with bench warrants, Tumulak said Citom and the police will create a task force to look for them.
Manila meeting
Meanwhile, Mayor Michael Rama went to Manila yesterday to meet, among others, Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Rogelio Singson.
They will discuss what will happen next following the approval of the P10.6-billion Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project.
The mayor refused to divulge more details about his trip, but said he will call a press conference when he gets back.
Citom Executive Director Atty. Rafael Yap said the DOTC is expected to bid out and award the detailed engineering work for the project within the year.
It will then be followed by the construction works, which are expected to take two years. DOTC is targeting to have the BRT fully operational by 2017.
The BRT, which will have 33 buses and 176 stations, is a 16-kilometer project that will run from Bulacao to Barangay Talamban.
Aside from meeting DOTC officials, Rama will also discuss with Philippine Ambassador Philippe Lhuillier the construction of Magellan’s bust that will be given to the Municipality of Sabrosa in Portugal as a gift.
Rama and other City Hall officials are expected to go to Sabrosa, where Magellan was born, in October to sign the memorandum of agreement for a sister-city relationship.