BAGUIO CITY—The city’s Traffic and Transport Management Committee strongly condemned the untimely relief of a devoted personnel of the Baguio City Police Office-Traffic Management Branch and his subsequent reassignment to Apayao for doing his job as a traffic enforcer of the city.
The committee said the relief of SPO3 Alberto C. Tadeo does not reflect the genuineness of wise decision-making among ranking regional police officers based in Camp Dangwa.
In a resolution unanimously approved by the TTMC chaired by Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, the city’s traffic management body expressed its disappointment over the relief and reassignment of SPO3 Tadeo to Apayao when he was just discharging his function as a traffic enforcer when he reminded the driver of a ranking regional police officer that he violated the city’s existing number coding scheme.
The resolution questioned the decision of regional police officers in transferring SPO Tadeo to Apayao when he only performed his job in reminding motorists of their violations and that he even did not apprehend the driver of a certain Senior Superintendent Greg Lim when he was found to have violated the city’s number coding scheme.
SPO3 Tadeo is a feared traffic enforcer because even the driver of his taxi who commits traffic violations has been repeatedly apprehended by the veteran traffic enforcers.
Mayor Domogan clarified that Tadeo did not personally seek his help on the matter but concerned citizens who are aware of SPO3 Tadeo’s sincerity and dedication to the service called his attention on the issue, thus, he personally took the matter to the TTMC to make a collegial action on the matter and to remind public officials that being a government official is not an excuse for anyone to be excused from glaring violations of traffic rules and regulations.
The local chief executive underscored Baguio City needs the services of SPO3 Tadeo, who is a responsible and devoted traffic enforcer, because he is one of the most effective traffic enforcers that have served the city through the years and that he will not be effective in the place where he will be reassigned in fairness to him as a true public servant.
He explained traffic enforcers in the city are now demoralized because they can easily be reassigned to a remote place and render them ineffective simply because they had been doing their job in apprehending influential traffic violators.
Mayor Domogan claimed drivers of influential people should be role models in strictly complying with traffic rules and regulations and for them to tell their superiors about the true account of what happened to them in case they had been apprehended for such violations so that devoted policemen will not be sacrificed just to suit their own personal interests.
The resolution was signed by the different representatives of regional line agencies and city government offices sitting as members of the TTMC and that its sentiments will be forwarded to higher regional police authorities for the return of SPO3 Tadeo to the city, saying that his reassignment was considered untimely as the city is now in the peak visitors season, thus, the need for effective and efficient traffic enforcers.