The Traffic Enforcement Unit-Baguio City Police Office (TEU-BCPO) reported that 2,166 license plates of motor vehicles and motorcycles confiscated from 2010 to 2020 have yet to be claimed by their owners.
These license plates were seized during the operations of the BCPO together with the traffic aides of the City Engineering Office-Traffic and Transport Management Division (CEO-TTMD), the Public Order and Safety Division (POSD), and the barangay officials for the implementation of Ordinance 07-1984 (Comprehensive Transportation and Traffic Regulations for the City of Baguio) and Administrative Order 116-2016 or the Operation Anti-Road Obstruction.
Of the number, 1,946 were confiscated by the BCPO while 2021 were confiscated by barangay officials.
In addition to these 2,166 vehicles with their license plates confiscated, 22 vehicles using yellow plates (public utility vehicles) and four red plates (used by government offices) were also apprehended.
Cabatan likewise reported that 774 traffic violations committed before December 31, 2020 are still unpaid. Among these traffic violations were non-observance of traffic rules, obstruction, and illegal parking. The total amount of these unpaid violations is P332,000.00.
He presumed that one reason why most of these confiscated plates are unclaimed is because of the “high” penalties imposed for these traffic violations.
In order to encourage erring motorists to claim their license plates, the TEU-BCPO requested the council’s Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Traffic Legislation to craft an ordinance reducing the fines for all unpaid traffic violations committed on or before December 31, 2020.
Once enacted, the ordinance shall cover traffic citation tickets (TCTs) issued to motorists on or before December 31, 2020 for having violated the traffic and transportation ordinances of the city.
All fines, as proposed by the ordinance, shall be reduced to P200.00.
Cabatan said the proposed measure, once approved, shall grant a one-time amnesty which is applicable only to the owners of the 2,166 unclaimed license plates.
According to the proposed ordinance, license plates not redeemed within the three-month period shall be forwarded to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for proper action and disposal.
Councilor Michael Lawana, however, said that reducing the penalties might not solve the problem as the reasons of erring motorists for not claiming their confiscated license plate might not be money-related. He urged Cabatan to delve deeper into the problem and work together with other concerned agencies such as the LTO and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
The proposed ordinance was approved on second reading during last Monday’s session after it was posted on the bulletin boards of City Hall, Baguio City Public Market, Baguio City Public Office, and other government offices. It was also published in a local newspaper. **Jordan G. Habbiling
