IN 2020: Naga to implement expanded wheel-clamp, towing rule

A Public Safety Office (PSO) enforcer attaches a wheel-clamp to a sedan illegally parked along the pedestrian lane in the city’s Central Business District. JBN/CEPPIO photo

NAGA CITY --- The Towing and Expanded Wheel Clamp Ordinance or City Ordinance No. 2018-18 here will be strictly implemented starting January 2020.

The ordinance authorizes personnel of the Public Safety Office (PSO) to tow and impound abandoned, stalled, and illegally parked vehicles in designated areas and imposes stiffer penalties on violators.

This, after the city government has finally found and established an impounding area in a 3,000-square-meter lot in Barangay Bagumbayan Sur.

Renne Gumba, chief of the Public Safety Office (PSO) said that before the full implementation of the ordinance, the PSO and the Naga City Police Office (NCPO) will first put up ample signages on the designated wheel clamp and tow-away zones. This will ensure that drivers and vehicle owners are forewarned about the consequences of parking in those areas.

The City Events, Protocol and Public Information Office (CEPPIO) will also disseminate the list of wheel clamp and tow-away zones to the general public.

Gumba further said that a massive information and education campaign will also be conducted to orient and make car drivers and owners aware of the implementation of the traffic rules.

Mayor Nelson Legacion said that the ordinance seeks to deter motorists from illegally parking their vehicles, encourage landowners to venture into business of providing parking spaces for a fee and, ultimately, improve the traffic situation in Naga.

Legacion said that “traffic congestion in the city is already an alarming concern. But, many of the issues in this area lie with the lack of discipline of drivers in driving and, more so, in parking their vehicles. Streets which are supposedly free for travelling automobiles are blocked by illegally parked cars, creating disruptions in the traffic flow, the effect of which especially during rush hours, are multiplied tremendously.”

The city government has accredited Maxicam Body and Bumper, a towing firm, to tow illegally parked vehicles. Fines for towed vehicles range from P 1,000 to P1,500 depending on the gross capacity,kind of vehicles, and additional amount for every kilometer distance from the site of the violation to the impounding area

Violators are given three days from the time their vehicles are towed to pay the fine. An additional P 100/day shall be charge as penalty after the lapse of the three days period. Unredeemed vehicles for two months will be sold in public auction.

For wheel-clamped vehicles, a fine of P1,000 shall be imposed against their owners. A maximum of three hours is given to any violator to redeem his wheel-clamped automobile; otherwise, the same will be impounded and the rules on towed vehicles and penalties relative thereto will apply.

The ordinance was sponsored by Councilors Joselito Del Rosario, Salvador Del Castillo, Elmer Baldemoro and Tomas Ramon Sanchez Jr., with their youth counterparts – City Youth Councilors Allysia Mariefranz Rodriguez, Jan Kristofer Borja, Jovelyn Competente and Therese Pototan as co-sponsors.