THE Metro Manila Development Authority will start bringing apprehended vehicles for illegal parking and out-of-line violations to the government’s impounding area in the province of Tarlac, where all expenses, including the toll will be shouldered by the car owners.
MMDA Towing Operations Group chief Victor Nunez announced this Thursday after the Department of Transportation gave them the go-signal to bring the excess impounded vehicles from the University of Life impounding site in Pasig City to the impounding area of Land Transportation Office and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Tarlac.
“We intensified our anti-illegal parking operations and that is why we are asking car owners to find the right place where they can park their vehicles properly, if not, we will bring their cars to Tarlac,” said Nunez.
The vehicles to be brought to the Tarlac impoundment facility are those apprehended for illegal parking and out-of-line public utility vehicles.
The MMDA disclosed earlier that an average of 30 out-of-line vehicles and illegally parked vehicles are apprehended daily since it launched the campaign last month.
Nunez said a memorandum of agreement will be signed by the members of the inter-agency committee to formalize the transfer of the impounded vehicles.
Meanwhile, the National Police-Highway Patrol Group has expanded its scope in managing traffic and will no longer be confined to Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
Last Wednesday, an interagency committee was formed and came up with the agreement that the partnership of MMDA with the HPG traffic personnel will extend to other roads in Metro Manila.
While waiting for the emergency powers to be given by Congress to President Rodrigo Duterte to solve the traffic problem in Metro Manila, Transportation Secretary Arturo Tugade has decided to strengthen working relationship of the inter-agency committee, composed of MMDA, HPG, LTO and LTFRB.
DoTr spokesperson Cherrie Mercado said Tugade and MMDA Chairman Emerson Carlos had initially met to thresh out some kinks in the partnership since MMDA is a separate government agency.
For his part, HPG head Col. Antonio Gardiola said the aim of the inter-agency group is to have a unity of command in terms of the overall traffic management. The HPG-MMDA partnership will be concerned on the traffic enforcement aspect of the matter, he added.
“The intention of the Secretary [Tugade] is to address the doable or actionable items…we have to solidify the chain of command,” Gardiola said.