Empowering Citom to seize driver's license sans TOP might violate the law

The plan of the city council to grant the members of the City Traffic Operations Management the power to confiscate licenses of erring drivers even without issuing temporary operators' permit might be a violation of the law.

Antonio Pogado, head of the group Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo, has reminded the city council members of the provisions of Republic Act 4136, or the Transportation and Traffic Code, specifically sections 29 and 62.

Pogado said section 62 provides that "no provincial board, city and municipal councils shall enact or enforce any ordinance or resolution in conflict with the provisions of RA 4136."

Section 29 of the same law provides that the licenses of erring drivers will be confiscated only after the issuance of a receipt prescribed and issued by the Land Transportation Office, formerly the Land Transportation Commission.

Pogado argued that based only on these two provisions of RA 4136, the city council could not grant Citom the power to confiscate a driver's license without the issuance of a TOP otherwise it will clearly violate the law.

Councilor Sylvan "Jack" Jakosalem, transportation committee chairman who filed the proposed measure, earlier explained that his intention is to discipline abusive drivers.

Jakosalem observed that most drivers would not respect Citom enforcers because the latter are just armed with citation tickets only, unlike LTO-deputized agents who could issue TOPs.

But Pogado argued that apprehending and slapping drivers with large fines could not reform their attitude.

"Klaro man nga kining ordinansaha gitumong aron nga ang tanang multa gikan sa madakpang drayber dili na mahipunta sa nasudnong kagamhanan og anha na lang sa panudlanan sa City hall (The apparent intention of this ordinance is to take all the fines from apprehended drivers to the City Hall coffers instead of going to the national government)," Pogado said.

Almost everyday, at least 800 drivers are apprehended for various traffic violations in the city, with fines ranging from as low as P100 to as high as P3,000. And most of these violators are not even charged in court due to lack of lawyers and personnel.

If no case is filed within two months, the fines could not be collected anymore because the traffic offense, deemed by law as light offense, is already prescribed. - Rene U. Borromeo