CEBU, Philippines — At least 40 electric tricycle (e-trike) drivers have been apprehended in the latest rounds of road clearing operations in eight barangays that requested help from the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to enforce road discipline.
CCTO supervisor Manuel Tagaan said they implemented the Oplan Disiplina in Mambaling, Kinasang-an, Cogon Pardo, Day-as, Pasil, Bulacao, Barrio Luz, and Inayawan upon the request of the barangay officials.
Most of the apprehended e-trike drivers were operating outside their designated travel line, unregistered, and parking on prohibited areas.
“Naay uban mo-ingon namo nga naa sila’y rehistro pero tua sa tag-iya sa unit ang papel. Pero mangangkon sila nga rehistrado sila kay naa man sila’y sticker gikan sa CCTO,” Tagaan said.
Tagaan explained that the sticker issued by CCTO to the owners of registered e-trikes should not be used as substitute for registration documents.
“Kato gyu’ng papel nga rehistro ang ilang ipakita kay ang kanang sticker gud, pwede man gud na ma-fake,” he added.
Owners of registered e-trikes are also reminded to tell their drivers to follow traffic rules to avoid their units from being impounded.
Registered e-trike owners can claim their impounded unit after a week but drivers can only claim their impounded units after a month. However, e-trike drivers and operators shall be required to undergo a seminar with the CCTO before they can claim their impounded units.
City Ordinance 2531, which regulates e-trike operations in the city, mandates all operators and drivers to register their units. During the latest operations, CCTO personnel also caught minors driving e-trikes.
“Kasagaran nadakpan ning mga minors basta tinggabii na,” said Tagaan.
Minors were given temporary citation tickets and had their units confiscated.
There were also some that were caught operating their e-trikes beyond the authorized hours. Tagaan lamented that some e-trike drivers continue to violate traffic laws despite the CCTO’s campaign to regulate them.
“Atong nakita nga ang problema sa una, naa lang gihapon,” Tagaan said.
He vowed that more operations will be conducted by the CCTO personnel and the members of Oplan Disiplina against e-trikes in the coming days. (CEBU NEWS)