In its Monday regular session, the city council, presided by Acting City Vice Mayor Benny Bomogao, approved Ordinance 81, s. 2023 for the amendment of Ordinance 15, s. 2011.
The amendatory ordinance aims to clear out vehicles being advertised along roads, streets, and roadside pay parking spaces within the city.
This regulation is part of the approach to address traffic obstructions by disallowing motor vehicles marked/tagged with the phrase ‘for sale” or any phrase or words in circumvention and depicting the same meaning as to effect sale or swap and any act of disguise to confound detection by authorities at any time to park on all city roads, streets, and roadside pay parking spaces.
“For sale” mark/s or tag/s on any part of the vehicle should be covered or removed before parking would be allowed.
Offices involved in enforcing the mandate of the ordinance efficiently and effectively include all community police precincts; Traffic Enforcement Unit and police auxiliaries of the Baguio City Police Office; Traffic and Transportation Management Division, City Engineering Office; and barangay tanods of all barangays in the city having jurisdiction over the road in their respective areas.
They shall closely coordinate, meticulously monitor, and record all apprehensions and subsequent offenses to know first and repeat offenders for appropriate legislative actions.
Those who fail to comply with the ordinance will be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second offense, P5,000 for the third offense, and P5,000 for every subsequent offense.
The City Treasury Office shall cause the printing of traffic citation tickets indicating as among the traffic violations thereon the payment of fine for violation of the provisions under the ordinance.
A copy of the ordinance was submitted to the office of City Mayor Benjamin Magalong for his signature.
The city council has approved Resolution 590, s. 2023 allowing jeepney trunklines using the Palispis-Aspiras (Marcos) Highway to use the North Santo Tomas Road towards Dahlia Street at Upper Q.M. barangay and City Camp Road towards central business district and vice versa during rush hours from 6:30 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. for 30 days.
The experimental traffic scheme aims to lessen the volume of vehicles along a portion of the Palispis-Aspiras Highway during rush hours and allow the jeepneys to reach faster their destinations and vice versa, avoiding long queues of passengers in their terminals.
It covers public utility jeepneys servicing Bakakeng areas, Santo Tomas Proper and school area, Dontogan, and Tuba areas with authorized routes using the Palispis-Aspiras Highway.
Conditions for the use of the route are voluntary on the part of the drivers; provided there are no passengers who shall alight or disembark along the authorized or usual route; and PUJs shall not pick up passengers along the route save in emergency cases.
The ordinance also requires compliance with the guidelines in the conduct of traffic experiments in Baguio, that the traffic experiment shall not exceed six months, and upon the lapse of the six months and no ordinance is enacted, the traffic scheme will automatically revert to its status before the experiment.
Within the first two weeks of implementation of the experiment, the TTMD-CEO shall submit a preliminary report to the city mayor and the city council, and the final result within 10 days upon expiration of the traffic experiment.
Also, the TTMD-CEO in coordination with the Department of Public Works and Highways and other concerned agencies shall place or install signages and barriers that meet safety standards during the period of the experiment.
The city’s Public Information Office, the Baguio City Police Stations 5 and 10, and the TTMD-CEO shall give massive information on the experiment to the public not less than two weeks before the experiment, and any substantial alteration or modification to the scheme during the experimental period should be made known to the public at least two days before implementation.
The ordinance further requires immediate dissemination of the traffic experiment to concerned PUJ transport organizations/cooperatives and the public for their guidance.
In Resolution 580, s. 2023, the DPWH Baguio City District Engineering Office was authorized to implement in the city the provisions of DPWH Order 93, s. 2014 for the regular pruning/trimming and/or cutting of trees within the road rights-of-way of national roads for safety purposes.
For efficient completion, the task shall be done in coordination, with the City Environment and Parks Management Office, CEO, and the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources regional office in identifying the trees to be pruned/trimmed/cut.
The resolution also requested the DENR regional office to immediately approve the emergency cutting of dead and live trees leaning toward national and city roads.
In its previous session, the city council approved Resolution 548, s. 2023 allowing the conduct of Session Road market encounter on the first Sunday of October this year as an opening event for the celebration of the Cooperative Month in the city.
Pursuant to Republic Act 11502, which declares October as the country’s National Cooperative Month, the city council through Ordinance 46, s. 2017 has institutionalized the city’s celebration every October. This is followed by Resolution 361, s. 2022, which allowed the first Session Road Market Encounter during the celebration to provide an opportunity for cooperatives to showcase their products and services.
The resolution added the concerned offices and partner cooperatives may seek the possibility of having the second, third, and fourth Sundays of October to be used for showcasing the cooperative’s products and services.
Participating cooperatives must comply with the special permit and other requirements by the city government and be assisted by the Cooperative Development Authority-Cordillera, Baguio City Cooperative Development Council, the City Coop Desk, and partner cooperatives.
April 29, 2024
