City to auction 500 abandoned vehicles

Close to 500 assorted vehicles impounded by the Cebu City traffic authorities since 1997 for traffic violations are to be auctioned to the public after their owners failed to redeem them.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña and the city council already gave the go signal for the disposal of the vehicles, but it should be made through public bidding to be conducted by the Bids and Awards Committee of the City Hall.

State audit procedures allows impounded properties to be disposed through public auction if the owners failed to recover them after six months, instead of letting them deteriorate and become useless.

Among the vehicles whose owners have failed to redeem them after these were apprehended and were confiscated in 1997 are a private jeep with plate number 7NC275B and a white taxi with plate number GVJ-881.  The traffic violations committed by their owners were not mentioned by the traffic authorities.

But vehicles that are still subject of cases still pending in court will not be included in the bidding, said traffic group chief Jonathan Abella.

Many of the impounded vehicles cannot be released to their owners for lack of registration documents, while other owners are no longer interested in claiming their vehicles due to the high amount of impounding fees.

The owner of a motorcycle is required to pay the P100 impounding fee for every day it is kept in storage, car owners are billed P300 per day while SUV and cargo trucks have to pay P500 per day.

“Nganong mahal man kaayo ang ilang pabayad nga wala man gani na’y atup ang ilang impounding area sa Citom.  Mao man gani na ang nahitabo nga nangadaut lang nang mga sakyanan kay uwan ug init gisagubang,” said a motorist whose motorcycle is still being impounded by the City Traffic Operations Management.  — Rene U. Borromeo/BRP