This time, Talisay City drivers get the squeeze from Osmeña

CEBU CITY — Jeepney and taxi drivers from Talisay City are the latest victims of the squeeze Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has applied on the neighboring city to punish its officials for laying claim to a portion of the south reclamation project.

Records on traffic fines at the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM), which Osmeña himself heads, show that jeepney and taxi drivers from Talisay City have been singled out for assessment of their full accumulated fines since 1987.

What this means is that a jeepney or taxi driver apprehended for a traffic violation in Cebu City will be made to pay, in addition to his latest fine, the full amount of any other unpaid fines he may have accumulated since 1987 if he is found to be a Talisay City resident.

Under CITOM guidelines, erring drivers from Cebu City are made to pay only 10 percent of the full amount of the accumulated fines upon apprehension, while those from other areas, except Talisay City, are made to pay half the full amount.

But for drivers from Talisay City, Osmeña has ordered that no discounts whatsoever are to be given and that they are to be assessed the full accumulated amount of fines dating back to 1987 when he first became mayor.

Under the same guidelines, failure to pay the accumulated fines, in addition to the current fine stemming from the latest violation, means the apprehended driver cannot be given the CITOM-issued ID he is required to display prominently in his vehicle.

Those who do not have this ID are required to pay P500 on the spot, in addition to the fine for the violation for which he has been apprehended.

To determine who can avail themselves of the discounts, a pink slip is attached to a CITOM document signed by executive officer Arnel Tancinco. The document lists all the violations and accumulated fines of a given traffic offender.

On that pink slip are the name of the violator, his precinct number, his residence, and a note that says whether he is a Cebu City resident or not.

Tancinco said CITOM normally recommends a reduction of the accumulated fines by as much as 50 percent, subject to the approval of Osmeña as the agency’s chairman and adjudicating officer.

The drivers from Talisay City are now appealing to Osmeña to spare them from his fight with Talisay City officials. — With Garry Lao/ Freeman News Service