Pasay dad wants stiffer penalty for jaywalking

A Pasay City councilor has proposed an ordinance that would impose a stiffer penalty on jaywalkers.

Citing pedestrians’ propensity to cross streets unmindful of traffic regulations, Councilor Reynaldo Mateo proposed that third-time offenders should either be fined P1,000 or be made to render a maximum of 72 hours of community service.

Entitled "The Anti-Jaywalking Ordinance in the City of Pasay," the proposal provides that first time offenders be reprimanded or given a warning while those apprehended for the second time fined P500.

But Florencio Mateo, chief of the Traffic and Parking Bureau which is tasked to enforce the ordinance, said that it would be difficult to monitor the number of times a person has committed the offense.

"How would we know if it’s already a person’s second or third offense? The monitoring system is not mentioned in the ordinance," Mateo said.

Mateo suggests that offenders be fined each time they are caught violating the ordinance.

He also said that the ordinance should also appropriate a budget for the construction of railings on the streets to prevent pedestrians from crossing.

The proposed ordinance is up for first reading. – Nikko Dizon