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[av_heading heading=’21 village chiefs to catch ‘bad’ drivers ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MERIANNE GRACE EREÑETA
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ILOILO City – Out of 180 barangay captains in this city, only 21 agreed to be deputized by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) Region 6 to catch drivers violating traffic rules and regulations.
In Molo district, the barangay captains who volunteered were from Calumpang, Compania Central, East Baluarte, Infante, North Fundidor, Salvacion Habog-habog, South Antonio, South Fundidor, South San Jose, and West Timawa.
There was only one in La Paz – the barangay captain of Laguda.
In Lapuz and Arevalo districts, there were two each – the barangay captains of Mansaya and Progreso (Lapuz) and Bonifacio and Sto. Niño (Arevalo).
From Jaro district, these were the barangay captains of Our Lady of Lourdes, San Isidro and Simon Ledesma, and from the City Proper, these were the village chiefs of Concepcion, Sampaguita and San Felix.
No barangay captain from Mandurriao district wanted to be deputized by LTO.
According to Councilor Reyland Hervias, Liga ng mga Barangay president, he will submit the names of these barangay captains to City Administrator Hernando Galvez.
“He (Galvez) will be the one to recommend to LTO and hopefully the examination and training will immediately start,” Hervias told Panay News.
The barangay captains will catch drivers who park their vehicles on non-designated parking areas in their respective villages.
Councilor Plaridel Nava is pressing for an ordinance that prohibits on-road parking in the city at all times. His targets are trucks and cargo vans.
On-road parking poses serious threat to public safety, said Nava, citing a recent early morning vehicular accident in Mandurriao district. A pickup crashed against a parked cargo truck. One teenager died and three others were injured.
The city has an existing “on-road parking ordinance” but the ban is only effective until 10 p.m. and this is being abused by truck drivers and owners.
“They deliberately convert and appropriate the roads as their parking areas or at least an extension of their garage, believing that the on-road parking ordinance is worthless during unholy hours,” said Nava.
The councilor said all roads must be free from any form of obstruction.
“The traffic must be free-flowing and not disrupted,” Nava stressed, but the city government appeared helpless to prohibit on-road parking.
For Nava, the problem “is deeply rooted and everything stems from the lack of discipline and discernment on the part of vehicle drivers and/or owners, and followed by the want of faithful and consistent implementation of traffic rules and regulations on the part of the executive branch.”/PN
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