Higher fine for jaywalking City folk told to speak in hearing

CEBU, Philippines - Residents in Cebu City are urged to speak their mind on a proposal to increase the fine for those caught jaywalking.

City Council Secretary Cynthia M. Kahulugan said representatives from various sectors of government and private organizations have been invited to the public hearing this 8:30 am, but no one from the city’s ordinary pedestrians have expressed interest to participate in the hearing.

Kahulugan said the Council is hoping that ordinary residents of the city will take part in the hearing so that sentiments from the general public can be included in the final deliberation of the proposal.

Councilor Richard Osmeña, chair of the City Council Committee on Traffic Management, had proposed to increase the present P500 fine to P1,000 and the P50 compromise settlement to P200.

But Mayor Michael Rama opposed the move, saying increasing the fine and the compromise settlement would render the situation vulnerable to corruption. Rama said he will formally oppose the proposal should the same reach the courts.

What needs to be done, Rama said, is to make enforcement of the existent ordinance consistent. An intensified information drive about the issue in the barangay level is also important.

Rama contended that if the amount of the penalty will already hurt the concerned violator and will make the one being punished angry, the same is no longer considered corrective.

Osmeña, for his part, believes that increasing the fines will discourage the public from crossing the streets even on a green light. – (FREEMAN)