PSO tells PUV drivers: ‘Follow IATF protocols’
NAGA CITY --- The Public Safety Office (PSO) here has warned drivers and passengers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to continue to follow the minimum public health standards set by the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF).
Arnulfo Fausto, PSO Traffic Management Center chief, reiterated the warning after he noticed that there are individuals who no longer wear face shields and do not comply with the physical distancing rule while inside public utility vehicles because of their belief that coronavirus disease (Covid-19) has begun to wane.
City Health Office chief, Dr. Vito Borja, in recent interviews, said it pays to religiously follow the protocols as the disease can make anyone to suffer very seriously. He said that older people and those who are immunocompromised or with pre-existing medical conditions (such as high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes) appear to be more vulnerable.
VIOLATOR Despite the implementation of IATF’s directive to allow only one passenger for every unit of tricycle per trip, still there are recalcitrant passengers and drivers who continue to ignore the task force’s health and safety protocols on public utility vehicles against coronavirus disease JBN/REY BAYLON/CEPPIO
Fausto said that it would be better for PUV drivers to continue to obey the safety and health standards to avoid from being apprehended and penalized. He said the PSO Traffic Direction and Control Unit along with the Task Force Wheel Clamp and Task Force COMET will be stricter in arresting erring PUV drivers.
From January up to the first week of November 2020, traffic enforcers recorded 1,559 apprehensions for violating the no-parking rule and 1,190 more for breaking the face mask and physical distancing rules.
He also warned tricycle drivers plying the routes in the barangays of Balatas, Cararayan, San Isidro, Carolina, and Pacol to stop from accommodating more than one passenger for each trip as it is violative of an IATF directive even though there is an existing city ordinance that permits them to do so. “Emergency cases, however, can be an exception to the rule,” Fausto said.
Among those individuals the PSO is keeping an eye on are the no-parking rule violators especially those in the Central Business Districts I and II where traffic congestions usually happen during rush hours.