Stop illegal parking on highways, PB asks

The Provincial Board (PB) requested the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 to enforce the rules against illegally parked vehicles along the national highway in Cebu to ensure road safety.

PB Member Raul Bacaltos prepared the resolution to help prevent vehicular accidents involving illegally parked vehicles along the national highway and major thoroughfares.

He asked the LTO to enforce Section 4 of Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, which states that “no driver shall park a vehicle, whether attended or unattended, upon a highway or roadway side, or within an intersection or crosswalk.”

The LTO is the primary agency tasked by the government to enforce the law, the resolution said.

LTO 7 Regional Director Victor Caindec admitted that they do not have an enforcement operation against illegal parking on the national highway since they were not given specific mission orders.

For him, the local government units (LGUs) should lead the enforcement of traffic and transport laws in their areas.

But just the same, Caindec said they have deputized some 180 personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to help enforce the law and apprehend violators.

He added that they are also working with several stakeholders to address traffic concerns on national roads.

Caindec said he did not receive the request from the PB yet but he fully supports it.

“In fact we have been communicating with Gov. (Hilario) Davide (III) and the LMP through Mayor (Democrito) Diamante to discuss the Province’s directions on traffic management,” he said.

Lawyer Vicente Gador Jr., LTO 7 acting assistant regional director and operations chief, said they will ask for help from PNP and DPWH to address the PB’s request.

He said they will discuss first how to go about the operation before they conduct one.

The latest incident involving an illegally parked vehicle along the highway happened last Aug. 11 in Poblacion 2 in Carcar City, where an Isuzu D-max pickup driven by a teacher rammed a trailer truck that was parked overnight.

Jonathan Tumulak, the Province’s focal person on traffic management, said they received several complaints about trucks that use the widened roads in the south as a parking area at night, particularly the highway from the City of Naga to Carcar.

Cebu Truckers Association president Gabby Cruz admitted that there are truck drivers who park on the highway at night due to the truck ban implemented by some LGUs.