BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance regulating the use of streets and roads in the city by heavy equipment vehicles, trailers, dump and freight trucks, particularly 6-wheelers and above with gross weight capacity of 4,500 kilograms, and providing penalties for violations.
Authored by Councilors Benny Bomogao, Michael Lawana, and Faustino Olowan, the ordinance states that no heavy equipment vehicles, trailers, dump and other freight trucks, particularly 6-wheelers and above with the specified gross weight, shall be allowed to traverse the streets and roads in the city from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. up to 8 p.m.
The said vehicles shall not be allowed to traverse in the areas within the Baguio City Police Office (BCPO) Station No. 10 along Marcos highway; BCPO Station No. 8 along Kennon road; BCPO Station No. 4 along Loakan road; BCPO Station No. 3 along Ambuclao Road within Pacdal circle; city limit Bell Church along Km. 3 of the Halsema highway; BCPO Station No. 9 along Naguilian road; Asin road beginning at the intersection of the circumferential road and perimeter roads of the central business district defined in Section 5 of Ordinance No. 001, series of 2003 or the Baguio Number Coding Ordinance.
Further, the ordinance provided any vehicles covered by the measure can only pass through Kennon road, thus, vehicles coming from or going to the Halsema highway shall take Magsaysay Avenue, Buhagan, Kayang Extension road, Legarda Road, Gregorio del Pilar, Kisad or vice versa; those coming or going to Ambuclao Road shall take Pacdal circle, Park road, South Drive Road, Military Cut-off or vice versa or Pacdal Circle, Park Road, South Drive, Loakan road or vice versa.
Those coming and or going to Itogon, Benguet shall take Outlook Drive behind Mansion House, South Drive, Military Cut-off or vice versa or Outlook Drive, South Drive, Loakan road and vice versa or those coming from and going to Balatoc mines shall take Loakan Road.
Those coming from the former Benguet Exploration and Black Mountain mines shall, in going to Naguilian road, take Kennon road, Kisad road, Gregorio del Pilar, Legarda road, Kayang Extension in going to Halsema highway; take Kennon Road, Kisad Road, Gregorio del Pilar, Kayang Extension, Buhagan, Magsaysay Avenue and in going to Itogon; take Loakan road, South Drive, Outlook Drive; and going to Ambuclao Road, take Loakan road, South Drive, Pacdal Circle, Park Road.
The ordinance stated that among those exempted from the coverage of the measure include water delivery trucks, fire trucks, company vehicles of public utilities doing actual repair works, government-registered trucks and heavy equipment already on site.
Any person found violating the ordinance shall be penalized by a fine of P1,000 for the first offense; a fine of P2,000 for the second offense and a fine of P3,000 for the third and succeeding offenses.
The driver’s license of the erring driver shall be confiscated and submitted to the BCPO Traffic Management Branch within one hour from confiscation.
By Dexter A. See