Reduced penalty for unpaid traffic violations proposed

September 08, 2021 – The City Council, during last Monday’s regular session, approved on first reading a proposed ordinance granting reduced penalty to all unpaid traffic violations issued on or before December 31, 2020 for a period of three months.

The ordinance shall cover traffic citation tickets for violation of traffic and transportation ordinances in the city issued on or before December 31, 2020.

Under the proposed ordinance, traffic violators who are covered by the proposed measure may redeem their confiscated driver’s license or motor vehicle license plate upon payment of P200 redemption fee.

Further confiscated driver’s license or motor vehicle license plate that are covered by the ordinance may be redeemed within 3 months upon approval of the measure.

According to the proposal, the driver’s license or motor vehicle license plate not redeemed within the prescribed 3-month redemption period shall be forwarded to the Cordillera office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO-CAR) for proper action and disposal.

Earlier, the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) informed the local legislative body that there are some 2,166 unclaimed motor vehicle license plates confiscated by law enforcers for various traffic violations at the traffic individual citation and centralized adjudication and releasing of the Traffic Enforcement Unit (TEU).

Moreover, the BCPO requested for the implementation of a onetime amnesty for the said traffic violators to allow them to redeem their confiscated driver’s license or motor vehicle license plates without incurring excessive fines and penalties.

The BCPO stipulated that the increasing unclaimed motor vehicle license plates is occupying space in the said office and has significantly affected the efficiency of the personnel in the performance of their assigned duties and responsibilities.

Moreover, the request for the implementation of the proposed onetime amnesty aims to provide sufficient opportunity for traffic violators to pay their outstanding penalties and subsequently claim their confiscated driver’s license or motor vehicle license plate to prevent these from being submitted to the LTO which will surely impose stiffer fines and penalties for such unclaimed plates.

The Traffic and Transportation Management Division of the City Engineering Office (CEO) forwarded the list of the confiscated motor vehicle license plates for the adoption of any legislative action that will help in decongesting the BCPO-TEU from the unclaimed motor vehicle license plates that continue to pile up in the said office.

The LTO-CAR rolled out the implementation of the LTO management information system where confiscated driver’s license or motor vehicle license plates will be inputted into the system and that the owners of the same cannot renew the registration of their vehicles until such time that they settle their fines and penalties due to violation of traffic rules and regulations.

Police authorities are appealing to drivers and motor vehicle owners to start paying their fines and claiming their confiscated drivers licenses or motor vehicle license plates to prevent the same from being transmitted to the LTO for further action. – Dexter A. See