By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The Dinagyang Festival festivities did not deter Iloilo City’s Traffic and Transportation Management Office (TTMO) from enforcing clamping operations on 89 vehicles obstructing designated emergency lanes.
From January 24 to 26, TTMO head Uldarico Garbanzos reported to the Daily Guardian that of the 89 clamped vehicles, 11 were four-wheeled, 42 were two-wheeled, and 36 were three-wheeled.
Additionally, 36 three-wheeled and two-wheeled vehicles were impounded during the operations.
The clamped vehicles were found obstructing emergency lanes in various areas, including parts of Muelle Loney, Rizal Street in Lapuz and La Paz, Nabitasan or Esplanade 5, General Luna Street, Jalandoni Street in the City Proper, and portions of Delgado Street leading to Rizal and De Leon Streets.
“In our clamping operation during Dinagyang, we became lenient in some areas. However, we initiated clamping because we consider these areas as emergency lanes, and there should be no obstruction,” Garbanzos explained.
He noted that most of the clamped vehicles were found on Rizal Street, General Luna Street, and Nabitasan or Esplanade 5.
Some vehicle owners are still in the process of settling their violations with the city government, according to Garbanzos. He added that the TTMO is targeting the release of all impounded vehicles within the week.
Failure to settle penalties with the City Treasurer’s Office will result in the cases being forwarded to the City Legal Office for further action.
During the operations, vehicles found illegally parked without a driver present were issued traffic citation tickets, which were left on the vehicles to notify owners of their violations.
Under Iloilo City’s clamping ordinance, violators are fined PHP 1,000 for light vehicles, PHP 1,200 for medium vehicles, and PHP 1,500 for heavy vehicles. Unauthorized removal of clamps carries an additional fine of PHP 5,000.
Garbanzos said the TTMO conducted extensive information campaigns via social media and public announcements to remind motorists of traffic rules during the festival.
Despite these efforts, he admitted that some emergency lanes lacked proper signage informing motorists of no-parking zones. He said the TTMO aims to improve operations and signage for next year’s celebration.
“We placed no-parking signs in some areas, but we need to improve. As part of the lessons learned, we will install additional information or traffic signages to warn motorists,” Garbanzos said.
