LABELLA SUGGESTS REVIEW OF E0 34

Will it survive in court? Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella says that while Mayor Tomas Osmeña deserves credit for “thinking outside of the box in providing for impoundment,” it wouldn’t hurt him or his campaign for driver discipline to rethink the penalty of impounding vehicles for 30 days

Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella is asking Mayor Tomas Osmeña to re-evaluate the legal basis of his Executive Order (EO) 34, which allows the traffic group to impound vehicles caught counter-flowing.

While Labella supports the intention of Osmeña to impose discipline, the vice mayor said the mayor should revisit all laws pertaining to his EO as it might not stand a “legal challenge.”

Labella said that while everyone should take part in easing traffic, the mayor should also listen to the suggestions of other stakeholders.

“While credit should be given to the mayor for thinking outside of the box in providing for impoundment, it would hurt neither him nor his campaign to listen to all the stakeholders and revisit his order. It would be unfortunate if, after a promising start, the campaign for road discipline flounders because it could not stand a legal challenge,” Labella said.

Labella, who is also a lawyer, said the most complaints about the EO are on the penalty provisions, which the former described as “oppressive and confiscatory, particularly the impounding of the offending vehicle for 30 days.”

EO 34 declares reckless driving pursuant to existing laws, nuisance and provides sanctions effective immediately after Osmeña signed it last week.

All drivers caught violating the EO will have their vehicles impounded for a month.

As of yesterday, more than 200 vehicles, mostly motorcycles, were already impounded as a result of the campaign.

Some have criticized the mayor for the punishment, including opposition Councilors Pastor Alcover Jr., Joel Garganera and Atty. Raymond Garcia.

Alcover particularly described the punishment as “harsh.”

They asked Osmeña to clearly define what counter-flowing is.

However, despite the criticism, Osmeña said he will not stop the implementation of the EO.