Letter to the editor: Parking fee at the Capitol and the IBP building

Starting last November 17, Capitol started collecting steep fees for vehicles parking inside its compound. For cars, it charged P20 for the first two hours and P10 for every succeeding hour. The charge is P40 and P20 for buses and P10 and P5 for motorcycles.

According to Provincial Board Member Atty. Juan Bolo, the said fees were arrived at after the deliberations and decision of Capitol's Economic Enterprise Council on the matter was approved by the Provincial Board. He said the purpose for charging the fees was "more on regulatory" in nature, the primary purpose of which was to make the area uncongested with wayward vehicles.

When Attys. Ely Espinoza and Gines Abellana complained about it, Gov. Gwen Garcia went ballistic. She then threatened to evict the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) from the 200 square meter lot it is occupying inside the Capitol compound. Said lot was ceded to the local IBP by then Gov. Tingting dela Cerna in 1994, granting a usufruct on the same for 25 years renewable for another 25 years.

Gov. Garcia also questioned the contract of lease that the IBP-Cebu City Chapter signed with businesswoman Gina Dumadag for the lease of the canteen space. She claimed that it violated the purpose for which the usufruct of the lot in question was given to the IBP, which was: To render free legal aid.

In a meeting with local IBP officials last Monday, Gov. Garcia said she might give in to the lawyers' request for discounted parking rates if they provide legal aid to CPDRC inmates. She also made known her desire to have the IBP canteen closed. After their meeting with the governor, IBP Cebu City Chapter president Briccio Boholst said that the IBP has been exerting efforts to stop the operations of the IBP canteen.

Yesterday, Byron Garcia, Gov. Garcia's younger brother and the Capitol consultant on security, said that the IBP canteen has been made as the hang-out of some lawyers at night and where women, who are not the lawyers' wives, congregate.

Today, Capitol installed a surveillance video/camera pointed at the IBP canteen. While this would disprove Mr. Garcia's allegation that the IBP canteen is a trysting place, some lawyers feels strongly that it violates their right to privacy.

The cause of this brouhaha now is the expensive parking fees the Capitol is charging to the motorists. What some lawyers want is just a reasonable reduction of said fees. Others want it totally scrapped.

The Capitol compound houses many government buildings, including the Palace of Justice where the courts, Cebu City and Cebu Province prosecutors' offices, among others, are located. The people who transact business there and the people who work there are helping the machinery of our government work.

At present, a government employee, like an assistant prosecutor 1, whose basic pay is just over P20,000 a month, has to shell out P2,000 a month in parking fees for his/her dilapidated car. A low ranking court employee, earning less than P10,000 a month, has to shell out P1,000 a month in parking fees for his service motorcycle. We feel that this is outrageous.

With regards to the IBP canteen, the lawyers believe that its services is necessary to the IBP and to the legal community. It has basically been in existence since the IBP building came about. It's the place most accessible to the Palace of Justice. Many lawyers go there with their clients after their hearings. They unwind there after their legal battles.

Judges Simeon Dumdum, Gabriel Ingles, Raphael Yrastorza, Manuel Patalinghug, Macaundas Hadjirasul, Frank Seville and Provincial Prosecutor Jane Petralba, among others, patronize it. Retired Judges Jesus dela Peña, Gaudioso Villarin, Vic Montecillo and Augustine Vestil, among others, hang out there when their appointments take them to the Palace of Justice.

The lawyers therefore believe that the outlook of Gov. Garcia and Byron Garcia on the IBP canteen is misplaced.

With regards to Mr. Garcia's libelous allegation that the IBP canteen is being used as trysting place for lawyers and their other women, he can ask Mrs. Merlie Militar about it. Mrs. Militar hangs out in the place with her lawyer-husband and knows what's going on there.

We hope that we can settle these little problems amicably. The Capitol is for the people, whether rich or poor. And charging those exhorbitant parking fees is anti-poor.

(Sgd) Atty. Ben Militar

(Sgd) Atty. Alfredo J. Sipalay

(Sgd) Atty. Gloria Lastimosa-Dalawampu

(Sgd) Atty. Marcelo M. Bacalso

(Sgd) Atty. Gines N. Abellana

(Sgd) Atty. Ronald C. Catipay