BAGUIO City’s bid to rid the street from obstructions, continue to roll at the City Council following the approval on first reading of the towing ordinance.
Proposed by Councilors Benny Bomogao, Michael Lawana and Faustino Olowan, the “Towing Ordinance of the City of Baguio,” aims is to provide a regulated towing system of damaged, abandoned, immobilized, illegally parked, or disabled motor vehicles on public right-of-way or on public or private property within the city streets or roads.
“The Towing ordinance is the implementation of traffic rules dito sa (here in) Baguio against illegal parking, obstructions, mga illegally parked at mga naka-obstract sa kaslada (blockers of streets),” said Bomogao.
Under the proposed ordinance, the Traffic Enforcement Unit of the Baguio City Police Office, the Traffic Management Office, the Traffic Task Force, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the City Engineering Office, and the City Environment and Parks Management Office are authorized to remove any vehicle parked on any of the highways, roads or streets, public right-of-way or other public property in the city.
Towing or removal of vehicles will be done only by employees of the city or by a licensed towing company.
Any vehicle removed will be impounded in a storage facility or in a property controlled by the City Government and designated for vehicle impoundment.
The ordinance sites any motor vehicle that is a hindrance to public access can be out rightly towed as well as vehicles parked in private properties. For vehicles parked in private properties, the removal or towing can be made by either the property owner or by the city after informing the owner of the vehicle.
Owner of the vehicle removed or towed will be liable for all the costs accompanying to the removal, storage, and disposal of the vehicle or the parts thereof.
However if the vehicle remains at the storage facility for more than 90 days, it may be removed and disposed in accordance with disposal procedures by the City General Services Office.
Vehicles towed away in storage will pay a fee of P500 for the first 24-hours and P500 daily. (Louie Anne Mapa/UC Intern)