30 November 2005
Pay parking edict defective
By DANNY O. SAGUN
Associate Editor, The Pangasinan Star
THE pay parking ordinance passed recently by the Dagupan city council appeared defective after all as the process in enacting such penalty-imposing measure was not strictly followed, it was gathered Wednesday.
The sangguniang panlungsod reportedly lacked the required quorum when it passed the ordinance (No.1853-2005) last November 14. City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued indicated so in a radio interview.
It was gathered that only seven members including Vice-Mayor Alvin Fernandez were around when the ordinance was approved. Six were absent to include Councilor Alex de Venecia who was then abroad. The city council has 10 regular councilors and two ex-officio members representing the barangay councils and the youth.
The public, particularly the affected sectors like motorists, were not thoroughly consulted on the matter as concerned committees reportedly did not call or conduct public hearings.
The media particularly was not aware of any such public hearings. Roland Hidalgo DWPR commentator, who heads the Pangasinan Tri-Media Association (Patrima) chided the council in his morning radio program for seemingly hiding the issue from the public by not calling any public hearing.
The ordinance was authored by Councilor “Chito” Samson, Jr., who chairs the peace and order committee. Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo was erroneously reported last week in the Pangasinan Star as the committee chair which news item he subsequently corrected in an email to this newspaper.
The city government however appears bent on pursuing the regulation of traffic at the city’s major thoroughfares that will include charging of parking fees.
Baniqued said studies have been made for this purpose and that consultations and public hearings will be held to gauge the public’s true sentiments.
She said that the city has legal basis for it, citing a precedent in Baguio City which got a favorable action from the courts including the Supreme Court for the city’s controversial pay parking measure.
The road shoulders, she noted, have today been practically appropriated upon by business establishment owners themselves who park their vehicles throughout the day in front of their stores without paying any centavo to the government coffers.
The pay parking measure seeks to correct such situation, she explained.
Based on Ordinance No.1853-2005, the city however will get a measly 20 percent of the gross collection with the bulk or 80% going to the private parking operator, a sharing scheme that observers and critics have tagged as anomalous. The operator, they claimed, may just be a dummy of some sectors who will only divide the money among themselves.
Associate Editor, The Pangasinan Star
THE pay parking ordinance passed recently by the Dagupan city council appeared defective after all as the process in enacting such penalty-imposing measure was not strictly followed, it was gathered Wednesday.
The sangguniang panlungsod reportedly lacked the required quorum when it passed the ordinance (No.1853-2005) last November 14. City Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued indicated so in a radio interview.
It was gathered that only seven members including Vice-Mayor Alvin Fernandez were around when the ordinance was approved. Six were absent to include Councilor Alex de Venecia who was then abroad. The city council has 10 regular councilors and two ex-officio members representing the barangay councils and the youth.
The public, particularly the affected sectors like motorists, were not thoroughly consulted on the matter as concerned committees reportedly did not call or conduct public hearings.
The media particularly was not aware of any such public hearings. Roland Hidalgo DWPR commentator, who heads the Pangasinan Tri-Media Association (Patrima) chided the council in his morning radio program for seemingly hiding the issue from the public by not calling any public hearing.
The ordinance was authored by Councilor “Chito” Samson, Jr., who chairs the peace and order committee. Councilor Jose Netu Tamayo was erroneously reported last week in the Pangasinan Star as the committee chair which news item he subsequently corrected in an email to this newspaper.
The city government however appears bent on pursuing the regulation of traffic at the city’s major thoroughfares that will include charging of parking fees.
Baniqued said studies have been made for this purpose and that consultations and public hearings will be held to gauge the public’s true sentiments.
She said that the city has legal basis for it, citing a precedent in Baguio City which got a favorable action from the courts including the Supreme Court for the city’s controversial pay parking measure.
The road shoulders, she noted, have today been practically appropriated upon by business establishment owners themselves who park their vehicles throughout the day in front of their stores without paying any centavo to the government coffers.
The pay parking measure seeks to correct such situation, she explained.
Based on Ordinance No.1853-2005, the city however will get a measly 20 percent of the gross collection with the bulk or 80% going to the private parking operator, a sharing scheme that observers and critics have tagged as anomalous. The operator, they claimed, may just be a dummy of some sectors who will only divide the money among themselves.
