Truck drivers turn Caloocan road into parking lot

Motorists and residents are blaming the drivers who illegally park their cargo trucks along Dagat-Dagatan Avenue in Caloocan City for the heavy traffic in the area.

At least 40 cargo trucks occupied one lane of the two-lane thoroughfare yesterday, with some of the vehicles double-parked and occupying the middle of the road.

The trucks were parked end to end from the intersection of Tanigue street near the Northern Police District (NPD) headquarters to Lapu-Lapu Avenue near the Pagamutang Bayan ng Malabon.

Motorists and residents complained that apart from hindering the free flow of traffic, drivers of these trucks  deliberately park even along secondary roads, completely blocking the entry and exit points of private vehicles.

“These illegally parked trucks also pose traffic hazards especially at night because of the absence of street lights at the Dagat-Dagatan highway,” a police officer who requested anonymity told The STAR.

He said a retired police official and NCT Transnational Corp. owns most of the cargo trucks.

Police Officer 3 Ronelio Asuncion, of the Caloocan City police traffic unit headed by Senior Inspector Abner Castro, said their office has no jurisdiction over the problem.

“It’s the Department of Public Safety and Traffic Management (DPSTM) that has a say on the matter,” Asuncion said, adding that their office’s function is “purely investigative in nature.”

DPSTM chief Al Sta. Maria, as of 1:30 p.m. yesterday, was still out of his office when The STAR tried to reach him.

But Sta. Maria’s staff, Christy Bustillo, promised to refer the matter to her boss once he arrives.