Clearer guidelines on BTAO operations sought

BACOLOD City – The city government will come up with a set of concrete guidelines for implementing traffic laws following reports of late-night apprehensions.

Several vehicles were clamped and towed outside a concert venue held on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Barangay

Mandalagan.

This is despite it already being beyond the duty hours of the City Treasurer’s Office personnel. In such cases, violators would have to wait until the next office day from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.

D u r i n g a p r e s s c on f e r e nce yes t e r day,

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez s a i d he would call the attention of the apprehending personnel.

Benitez was t old by Bacolod Traffic Authority Office ( BTAO) head Patrick Lacson that he gave BTAO personnel discretion.

In response, Benitez told

Lacson they would have to do away with this practice.

“We will come up with policies on how it should be, concrete guidelines for the public not to be confused,” he said.

Jose Antonio Robello, deputy officer-in-charge of the BTAO, said the apprehensions were not conducted by the BTAO.

It was an operation of the Mobile Patrol Unit of the Philippine National Police, he clarified.

Robello explained that it was the police who called Metro Towing Services for the reasons that the apprehended vehicles had either no official receipts or certificates of registration and the drivers had no license.

Based on BTAO records, there were nine motorcycles, two tricycles, and a private f o u r - wh e e l e d ve h i c l e apprehended last Saturday night./