Citom Enforces Emergency Assistance Device

Traffic enforcers in Cebu City are under instruction to apprehend all public utility vehicles that were not installed with emergency devices.

City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) executive director Rafael Christopher Yap said the traffic enforcers have been ordered to strictly implement the provisions of City Ordinance 1975, which requires all public utility vehicles plying in the streets of Cebu City to install an emergency assistance device.

The device is a blue light installed on the top of the vehicle that is visible for law enforcers in case of emergency.

The ordinance was enacted in 2003 at the height of the robbery incidents in Cebu City victimizing public transport.

The transport operators have agreed to install the emergency device in their units after the Police Coordinating Advisory Council (PCAC) explained to them its importance.

In case of a robbery incident inside the public utility vehicle, the driver is required to switch-on the device, which flashes a blue light, in order to signal the police or even their fellow drivers that he is in distress.

Although most of the PUJs and taxis operating in Cebu City have this device installed already, but Yap said they will ensure that these are working.

A fine of P1,000 or an imprisonment of not more than six months but not less than three months will be imposed against the violator.