THE Metro Manila Development Authority is mapping out plans with the Office of the Ombudsman and the National Bureau of Investigation to impose heavier penalties for illegal parking of vehicles and other traffic violations.
MMDA acting chairman Thomas Orbos said the government must impose stiffer penalties to discipline drivers who keep on illegally parking their vehicles on both major and secondary roads in the National Capital Region despite repeated reminders and continuous clearing and towing operations.
“The Ombudsman and the NBI both agreed. We started discussing this last October, and we will come up with the [implementing rules and regulations]. Hopefully it will come up soon or before the end of January,” said Orbos during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay Forum at Cafe Adriatico in Malate.
Orbos said he also wants to penalize barangay officials who fail to curb illegal parking in their respective areas.
The Ombudsman will handle the case of barangay officials and other government personnel involved in traffic management and those who will not cooperate with the government’s campaign against illegal parking while motorists with bad records in the MMDA will be placed on the watchlist of the NBI.
“We want the Ombudsman to join. There was illegal parking because there was negligence on duty as a public servant. You didn’t do your job and there was negligence. We already talked and we are coming out with an agreement to put up an Ombudsman Desk to primarily tackle issues involving government personnel pertaining traffic,” said Orbos.
He added that violators will be automatically placed under the blacklist of the MMDA and other government agencies under the Department of Transportation, like the the Land Transportation Office if they fail to pay corresponding penalties.
“We will put them on the watchlist and our basis will be their failure to pay, so other than illegal parking we are also thinking to cover also other [traffic] violations. It would be better if all violations are included,” said Orbos.
The MMDA chief said his agency apprehends a daily average of 70 to 100 motorists violating the anti-illegal parking.
Illegally parked vehicles are currently fined a minimum of P200 for the first offense, and at least P500 if they are towed.
Metro Manila mayors had rejected the proposed implementation of the three-digit number coding scheme and suggested that the MMDA and other members of the Inter-agency Council on Traffic (I-instead intensify the campaign against illegally parked vehicles and other obstructions.