CCTO ordered to stop collecting fines for prescribed traffic violations

Local

CEBU City Mayor Nestor Archival has ordered the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to stop collecting fines for traffic violations that have already prescribed.

This, after a legal review found that numerous cases could no longer be enforced because criminal complaints were not filed within the period required by law.

In Executive Order (EO) No. 084, signed on July 10, Archival directed the CCTO to conduct a comprehensive audit of its records, identify prescribed traffic and transportation violations, and remove them from its list of collectible accounts while retaining the records for documentation and statistical purposes.

The order stemmed from a legal guidance issued by the CCTO's Legal and Investigation Section, which found that because of the large volume of traffic citation tickets issued daily and the limited number of cases that could realistically be filed before the City Prosecutor's Office, a substantial number of violations had already prescribed under the Revised Penal Code (RPC).

The EO said continuing to treat these prescribed violations as collectible, including requiring motorists to pay them before securing CCTO identification cards, claiming towed or wheel-clamped vehicles, or obtaining other clearances, could expose the city government to liability for illegal exaction because the offenses had already prescribed by operation of law.

Under the RPC, violations of Cebu City's Traffic Code and other transportation ordinances are considered light offenses that generally prescribe after two months unless the prescriptive period is interrupted by the filing of a criminal complaint or information before the proper office.

To implement the order, the CCTO's Legal and Investigation Section, Traffic Enforcement and Parking Operations Division, and Billing and Collection Division were instructed to audit all recorded traffic violations and classify them either as "Prescribed Violations" or "Active or Collectible Violations."

Records tagged as prescribed must be marked "PRESCRIBED – NOT SUBJECT TO COLLECTION" and can no longer be included in statements of account, required for the issuance or renewal of identification cards for public utility vehicle drivers, or imposed as a condition for releasing immobilized or towed vehicles.

However, the records will remain in the CCTO database solely for documentation and statistical purposes and may still be used as part of a driver's history in appropriate administrative proceedings.

The CCTO has 60 calendar days from the order's effectivity to complete the audit and submit a report to the Office of the Mayor detailing the number and estimated value of prescribed and still-collectible violations.

While ending the collection of prescribed fines, Archival also ordered stricter enforcement to ensure future traffic violations do not lapse.

The EO requires traffic enforcers to immediately issue traffic citation tickets upon apprehension, observe the existing three-day settlement period, and promptly endorse unsettled violations to the CCTO's Legal and Investigation Section.

The legal office, in turn, must evaluate and file criminal complaints before the City Prosecutor's Office no later than 45 days from the date of the violation to ensure prescription is interrupted within the two-month period provided by law.

The City Legal Office was likewise directed to coordinate with the CCTO and the Office of the City Prosecutor to develop a streamlined, and where feasible, batch case-filing system to accommodate the volume of traffic cases without allowing offenses to prescribe.

The EO also mandates the establishment of an electronic case-monitoring and docketing system that will track deadlines for settlement, endorsement, and filing of cases, with automated alerts designed to prevent future violations from prescribing because of administrative delays.

In addition, the CCTO was instructed to continue exploring a possible interconnectivity program with the Land Transportation Office that could allow unsettled traffic violations to be treated as administrative demerits affecting the validity of a driver's license, subject to national laws and regulations.

The order also requires the CCTO to submit quarterly reports to the Office of the Mayor detailing the number of recorded violations, cases filed, fines collected, and violations that prescribed during the reporting period.

Archival, however, clarified that the directive does not condone or waive fines that remain legally enforceable.

The EO expressly states that it should not be construed as a waiver, condonation, or amnesty for active or collectible violations, which remain subject to collection under the city's Traffic Code and other applicable ordinances.(TGP)