TAGBILARAN CITY, January 21 (PIA)—Feeling helpless in his lonely fight against motorcycles fitted with loud mufflers stirring residents especially at night, Police Chief George Vale asks City legislative support as well a logistics to permanently put up a solution to erring motorists.
City Police Chief, Colonel George Vale wants cops to be empowered by an ordinance to take out illegal mufflers from accosted motorcycles so they can destroy them.
At the joint City Peace and Order Council (CPOC) and Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Councils (CDRRMC), PSupt. Vale revealed that no matter how they conduct saturation drives against erring motorists who install loud mufflers, they can’t hold the owners who pay for the city ordinance mandated penalties.
Earlier, a barangay chairman in Tagbilaran pleaded for the police to do something against motorcycles with altered mufflers producing disturbing sounds at night.
”We flag them, impound but yet motorists only pay the penalties, and we could not hold them,” he shared, during the meeting presided by Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso and Administrator Leonides Borja.
City Mayor John Geesnal Yap was on to another pressing concern at that time so he delegated the authority to preside on the joint meeting to Veloso.
“We planned saturation drives with Camp Dagohoy, but there are stores that sell them,” he added feeling helpless.
Over this, a former Capitol’s legislative researcher disclosed that there is already a provincial ordinance that bans shops from displaying, selling and installing illegal motorcycle fixtures.
Ric Obedencio, now a managing editor of a local paper revealed that the ordinance, which he could not accurately give the number, has been passed sponsored by then Board Member Alfonso Damalerio III.
“They could probably use the provincial ordinance to implement the illegal motorcycle fixtures,” he volunteered the information, considering that the ordinance also penalizes shops and repairmen who install the already considered illegal motorcycle alterations.
Besides, it they would use the provincial ordinance, police could already accost motorists from outside the city whose motorcycles feature illegal alterations.
Aside from oversized mufflers, Obedencio also complained on installing colored or white bake-lights, confusing blinkers and signal lights as well as High Intensity Discharge lamps that are dangerously too bright for incoming drivers.
“Who said they could install blue, green or white lights as brake lights when the international standard is red or amber?” he asked.
More than this, Colonel Vale asked the city legislators to draft an ordinance allowing the police to take off the illegal fixtures to motorcycles and destroy them, rather than just release the vehicle to the owners.
He also pushed for additional motorcycles for the cops mobility and pursuit operations.
The City Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso has still to comment on the police suggestion. (rac/PIA-7/Bohol)
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