Strict towing campaign in Baguio City ordered

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong ordered the members of the city’s towing teams to intensify the campaign against illegally parked motor vehicles along national, city and barangay roads to rid the roads from unnecessary obstructions that impede the smooth flow of traffic.

The new local chief executive pointed out that once the city’s additional towing trucks will arrive, the designated members of the towing teams must intensify their all-out operations not only in the barangays but also in the central business district area to rid the different roads and streets from illegally parked motor vehicles and obstructions which had been identified as one of the primary causes of monstrous traffic jams around the city.

“We want our people to feel the impact of what we are doing so that we will be able to make a difference in our efforts to improve the prevailing traffic situation around the city,” Mayor Magalong stressed.

Based on data obtained from the City Engineering Office’s traffic and transport division, the city’s towing team is able to two an average of 2 to 4 illegally parked motor vehicles in the different parts of the city.

Magalong said the local government was already able to identify an impounding area of towed illegally parked vehicles which is the property of businessman Dwight Nicolas Bello wherein it is capable of accommodating more than 300 motor vehicles that will be towed by the city’s towing teams that will deployed in the different parts of the city.

Earlier, the city’s towing team was mandated to operate from 6 am to 7 pm to ensure that roads and streets will be freed from obstructions to lessen the worsening traffic congestions around the city.

Magalong underscored that illegally parked motor vehicles that cause traffic should be towed to compel the owners to pay the prescribed fines under existing ordinances so that it will serve as a lesson to motorists not to illegally park their vehicles anywhere in the city.

Under the city’s towing ordinance, owners of towed motor vehicles will be required to pay the P150 fine for illegal parking, the P500 per day impounding fee and the P1,500 towing fee prior to the release of their towed vehicles from the designated impounding area.

Initially, the local government started its towing operations with a single two truck to help in ridding the roads and streets on obstructions that usually contributes to the monstrous traffic jams around the city, especially along major roads.

Magalong appealed to motor vehicle owners to cooperate with the city’s aggressive campaign against obstructions in all national, city and barangay roads so that motorists will be able to feel the gains of the local government’s efforts to ensure smooth travel inside the city.

The previous administration embraced the implementation of the Anti-Road Obstruction campaign that caused the deputization of barangay officials to help in the effort to rid the roads from unnecessary obstructions but the said endeavour was not successful considering that non-cooperation of some barangay officials to the said program that was supposed to bring back the roads to the public unlike the present situation where there are still motorists that insist in illegally parking their vehicles on roads that obstruct the smooth flow of traffic.