MMDA fines 103 motorists in Pasay

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) fined 103 motorists, including the driver of a Vietnamese diplomat, during a clearing operation in Pasay City yesterday.

MMDA operations officer Bong Nebrija said they cleared Taft Avenue and Libertad street of illegally parked vehicles after receiving reports that some jeepney drivers were using the area as a transport terminal.

The MMDA towed 20 illegally parked vehicles, mostly jeepneys, and issued 83 citation tickets to motorists for violating traffic rules, he said.

Luis Corro Salazar, driver of a diplomatic vehicle with plate number 5051, was also issued a ticket and fined P150 after the vehicle he was driving was allegedly illegally parked near the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) office.

“We waited for a couple of minutes before I instructed our men to tow the vehicle, but Salazar came out shortly before the vehicle was towed,” Nebrija said.

Under the MMDA’s guidelines, vehicles that are illegally parked will be towed by the agency’s accredited towing firm after they blast horns 10 times to alert the driver or owner.

“If the owner does not respond, the vehicle will be towed,” the MMDA said.

During the operations, Nebrija said that they spotted some of the vehicles of DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, whose drivers were about to illegally park near a hotel in the area.

Nebrija said he warned Cayetano’s drivers that they will be apprehended if they will not park the vehicles properly.

He said that they immediately went to a hotel to have the vehicles parked properly.