BM DE GUZMAN SPEARHEADS ORIENTATION ON ANTI-ROAD OBSTRUCTIONS AND ROAD WARNING SAFETY DEVICES ORDINANCES WITH LOCAL POLICE OFFICIALS
By: Jane T. Flores, GPC-SP | Photo By: GPC-SP | Date: November 18, 2020
Board Member Maria Annabelle S. de Guzman, Sangguniang Panlalawigan Chair of the Committee on Public Works and Utilities called for a policy orientation meeting at the Conference Room of the La Union Police Provincial Office, Camp Diego Silang, City of San Fernando, La Union on November 18, 2020 to discuss matters pertaining to the implementation of the anti-road obstructions and road warning safety devices ordinances as well as the distribution on the Provincial Ordinance Violation Receipt to Chiefs of Police of the 20 Local Government Units of La Union.
Board Member (BM) Maria Annabelle S. de Guzman, Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Chair of the Committee on Public Works and Utilities and being the principal author of the two road ordinances which were recently enacted by the SP reached out to all the Chiefs of Police of all police stations as the main implementors of the said policies through an orientation program to further explain and answer queries on each of the provisions of the ordinances on November 18, 2020 at the Conference Hall of the La Union Police Provincial Office (LUPPO), Camp Diego Silang, City of San Fernando, La Union.
Present during the orientation were PNP Regional Director Police Brigadier General Rodolfo Santos Azurin, Jr.; LUPPO Provincial Director, Police Colonel Jay Reyes Cumigad; all the Chiefs of Police of the 20 Municipal/City Police Stations; and representatives from the Highway Patrol Group.
The provisions of the two ordinances, SP Ordinance 229-2020, or the Road Warning Safety Devices Ordinance of the Province of La Union and SP Ordinance 230-2020 or the Anti-Road Obstructions Ordinance of the Province of La Union were explained. Inquiries as well as clarifications were also answered during the open forum.
BM de Guzman explained that the heart of the policies is to give teeth and muscle to the mandate of the national government through the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the mandatory conduct of road clearing operations, with the end view to reduce incidence of road accidents as well as faster and safer access of our roads and bridges, which is also aligned to the vision of the Gov. Francisco Emmanuel “Pacoy” R. Ortega III for the Province of La Union to be the Heart of Agri-Tourism in Northern Luzon by 2025. She explained that the provision on the sharing of fines with the implementing agencies is one way to acknowledge the efforts of the police force and the partnership between the province and the Philippine National Police through the local police stations.
Also, present during the activity is Ms. Janet D. Molina, the Acting Provincial Treasurer of the province who explained the use of the Provincial Ordinance Violation Receipt (POVR), by virtue of SP Ordinance No. 217-2020, now used by the apprehending officers to violators in their own jurisdiction. She oriented the Chiefs of Police on the procedure as well as on how to download the shares of the implementing agencies. The POVRs were likewise distributed to all the Chiefs of Police after the orientation.
PD Cumigad expressed his all-out support to the implementation of the policies and all other ordinances of the PGLU and local government units of the province inasmuch as the same is part of the mandate of the police force.
RD Azurin assured in his message that the police force will committedly implement the ordinance and even ordered concerned policemen to organize a technical working group who will formulate and propose the implementing rules and regulations to be submitted to the governor.
BM de Guzman expressed her gratitude to the leadership and commitment of the police force for the implementation of local ordinances. She likewise committed that the “Kalsada Program” under the Kalsada Group, which includes the PNP and other agencies such as DILG, Department of Public Works and Highways, Land Transformation Office, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and others will continue to bring this partnership into action and to achieve the objectives of these policies for the roads as well as for the safety of motorists and the public in general.
The conceptualization of these ordinances started in 2016 when the Kalsada Program was initiated by the committee and as part of the consultation with the different implementers and stakeholders. Concerned groups and sectors were invited in the series of committee hearings and public hearings. Said ordinances were also reviewed by the legal officers of the implementing agencies as well as the Provincial Prosecutor.
