Mayor: Intensify towing operations

CEBU, Philippines - Mayor Michael Rama yesterday ordered the revival of the strict implementation of towing operations against vehicles that are being parked on roads and sidewalks that would obstruct the path of other vehicles, particularly those responding to emergencies.

The mayor issued the order after he met with some of his trusted officials that include City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete, Assistant City Administrator Dominic Diño, and City Transportation Office chief Rafael Christopher Yap.

Just a couple of minutes after the meeting, a police officer arrived at the City Hall complaining about the rampant night parking of assorted kinds of vehicles along Bonifacio Street that may obstruct responding fire trucks.

Rama had instructed Yap to closely coordinate with City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) chairman Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem to intensify the campaign against illegal parking.

“Ako sila nga giingnan nga ipadayon ang towing sa mga sakyanan kang kansang mga drayber nagtuo nga sila ang nakatag-iya sa aseras,” Rama said in a press conference.

CITOM has a contract with Road Warriors Towing Services and the One Stop Towing Services to assist their personnel in towing illegally-parked vehicles, but the Road Warriors had stopped its operation a few months ago for unknown reasons.

Poblete believes that the low collections of towing fees from the decreasing number of violators could be the possible reason why the Road Warrior Towing Services had stopped helping the CITOM in the campaign against illegally-parked vehicles.

A worker of One Stop Towing Services also admitted that the number of vehicles towed by them tremendously decreased since last year.

“Minus na g’yud ang mga sakyanan nga ma-towing karon kay nagbantay na ang mga drayber ug tag-iya,” he said.

Tinago barangay councilman Joel Garganera, a well-known critic of then mayor and now South District Rep. Tomas Osmeña, had filed civil cases against CITOM and the city claiming that the hiring of the private towing firms is highly questionable.

Garganera said allowing the two private towing companies to engage in business in Cebu City could be disadvantageous to the city because it was done without public bidding.

Garganera had engaged in a near fist fight against the members of One-Stop Towing Services when he stopped the towing personnel from pulling out the vehicle owned by a lawyer-friend parked near an uptown hospital in 2009.

The owners of four-wheeled vehicles that will be towed for illegal parking need to pay P2,500 towing fee and P100 fine for every violation and P1,500 and P100 for the motorcycle. The city will only get a share of 25 per cent out of the towing fees. –(FREEMAN)