Fifty-nine public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers were issued bench warrants by the court for not paying their traffic violation fines in Cebu City.
Tthe warrants were issued by Metropolitan Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 1 Judge Monalilia Tecson last Thursday.
“We want to send the message that Citom is serious in its campaign against erring drivers because they are among the causes of traffic in the city. It’s one way of disciplining them,” said Joy Tumulak, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) operations chief, to reporters.
Violating simple traffic signs like “No Left Turn, No Right Turn or No Parking” were the most common offenses committed by the PUV drivers.
Citom has formed a team to go after erring PUV drivers and private motorists.
Desistance
Some warrants were sent directly to provincial police offices after Citom coordinated with the Cebu Provincial Police Office in apprehending the drivers.
One of those earlier issued a bench warrant was a councilor of Talisay City, who immediately appealed with the Citom office and settled his fines.
Tumulak said those issued warrants can go to the Citom office and settle their fines plus a P2,000 additional fee.
Citom can issue an affidavit of desistance that can be presented to the judge to dismiss the case filed against them.
From March to August this year alone, Citom filed 438 cases of traffic violations in court. Aside from the court, Citom forwarded cases to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7.
Database
In the past two months, Tumulak said they’ve forwarded 140 cases to the LTO 7.
The names and plate numbers of the vehicles will be included in LTO’s alarm database system.
The setup forces erring drivers renewing their driving license or vehicle registration to settle their fines with Citom first.
“We’ve already had several drivers who came to us after they weren’t allowed to renew registration with LTO 7,” Tumulak said.
Citom will coordinate with transport groups to look for members who were issued bench warrants.
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