BCPO, CEPMO and Councilors propose amendment of towing ordinance

January 21, 2020 Metro BLISTT

The Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation and Traffic Legislation of the Baguio City Council chaired by Councilor Benny Bomogao penned an ordinance amending the Towing Ordinance of Baguio (Ordinance Number 78, Series of 2018).
The proposed amendment came about after the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) and the City Engineering Office (CEO) advised the City Government of Baguio to revisit certain provisions of the ordinance.
In their letter dated October 10, 2019, PCOL. Allen Rae F. Co, City Director of the BCPO, and City Engineer Edgar Victorio Olpindo urged the City Government to update the ordinance “in order to address the current problems, issues, and needs which their offices are currently encountering.”
The draft of the amendatory ordinance consists of proposed revisions from the BCPO, CEPMO, and the members of the Committee themselves. Co and Olpindo commented on the term “City Towing Task Force” clarifying that there is no actual task force established; rather, in actual practice, it is the City Engineering Office (CEO) that removes obstructing vehicles along roads in the absence of a towing company.
They suggested the use of the term “Authorized City Government Office” in all the sections of the ordinance which will aptly refer either to the CEO or any office authorized to undertake the towing.
Also, the addition of “Motorcycle” in the Definition of Terms was suggested implicating that any two-wheeled vehicle will be towed when parked along public roads impeding the flow of traffic or causing traffic hazards. Co and Olpindo proposed the inclusion of towing fees for erring motorcycle owners worth P500.00 for the first four kilometer with an additional charge of P50. 00 for each succeeding kilometer.
Under the Committee’s proposal, towing fees for medium vehicles will be raised from P2, 500.00 to 3,000.00 and for heavy vehicles from P4, 500 to P6, 000.00. The present towing fee for light vehicles which is P1, 500.00 will remain.
Furthermore, an additional amount will be charged every two kilometers after the first four kilometers on top of the base fee. The kilometric fees will be P200.00 for light vehicles, P300.00 for medium vehicles, and P500.00 for heavy vehicles.
Section 4 of the ordinance (Authority to Remove and Impound) mentions “City Parking Management Office” as one of the authorized offices to remove an obstructing vehicle from the road. The two offices suggested the creation of a City Traffic and Transportation Management Office (CTTMO). According to them, the name of such office (CTTMO) is more appropriate as it is broader and more general in scope encompassing traffic and transportation, parking, and other related matters.
Section 8a of the ordinance states that the storage facilities for a towing company must be “located within the City of Baguio or nearby municipalities but in no case exceed ten (10) kilometers away from the City proper.” The Committee proposed to add the phrase “beginning at Kilometer Zero (Km. 0)” at the end of the aforementioned provision.
Another proposed amendment by Co and Olpindo is the inclusion of a 5-minute waiting time for the vehicle owner to remove his/her vehicle from where it is parked. Adding to this proposal, the Committee suggested that owners who fail to remove their cars where it is parked within five minutes will be issued a Traffic Citation Ticket and their Driver’s License or vehicle plate number will be confiscated.
Failure/refusal to accept the citation ticket and to surrender the driver’s license or plate number will be ground for towing. The amendment further indicates that, upon payment of the fees, the confiscated driver’s license /plate number and the towed vehicle will be released.
The Committee also wanted to amend Section 14 (Storage Fees). The amendatory ordinance stipulates that “vehicles must be claimed within 24 hours from the time it is turned over at the towing facility or city facility for storage.”
The proposed amendment adds that unclaimed vehicles within the period will pay the following storage fees for every succeeding 24 hours: P100.00 for motorcycles, P500.00 for light vehicles, and P1, 500 for heavy vehicles.  A fraction of one hour will be considered as 24 hours.
Section 18 of the ordinance states that “towing without the presence of a police officer or DULY DEPUTIZED ENFORCER shall be considered carnapping.” Co and Olpindo wanted the phrase DULY DEPUTIZED ENFORCER removed to ensure the prevention of any possible carnapping incident by exclusively authorizing police officers who are educated and trained in dealing with criminal acts including carnapping.
Instead of removing the said phrase, the members of the Committee proposed to replace it to TRAFFIC ENFORCER, OR THOSE DEPUTIZED BY THE LOCAL CHIEF EXECUTIVE.
Added as a new provision under Section 24 under the proposal of the Committee, owners of stalled vehicles left along the road which impede traffic flow and cannot be towed due to unavailability of proper towing equipment will be issued a Traffic Citation Ticket for obstruction with the penalty of P1, 000.00 per day until removed.
Also added under Section 24, the receipt for the payment of fees or order of payments “must show or reflect the breakdown of said fees.”
The Committee further suggested a few rules in the disposition of towed vehicles to be added as Section 27 in the Towing Ordinance.
The amendment indicates that all towed vehicles which are not claimed within 90 days will be auctioned either by the General Services Office or the private towing company as a scrap material.
The General Services Office will follow whichever existing disposal rules deemed most convenient. The amendatory ordinance passed the first reading and was referred to the Committee on Laws, Human Rights, and Justice for review.
 
Jordan G. Habbiling/ABN