Unjustified salary grade

Egay Uy .

DURING the flag raising ceremony at City Hall last Monday, I had a brief chat with Doy Ramiro, the president of volunteer group CRCD and is now handling administrative functions at the Roads and Traffic Administration.  As many may have known, I recruited Doy to join me years back when I was still the overseer of that office but his commitment with his private employer then prevented him from joining me at that time.

Anyway, Doy informed me that he is contemplating on proposing an amendment of the Traffic Code of Cagayan de Oro City, among which is the removal of the provision that makes the city government liable for damage incurred upon motor vehicles that are towed for violating traffic rules.

Yes, that provision has made it difficult for towing personnel to fully implement for fear of being held liable for damage to towed motor vehicles that are not even related to the towing activities.

I suggested to Doy that it may be best for the amendment to be based on the premise that the city government and/or the towing personnel are not liable for any damage to towed motor vehicles unless there was negligence on their part.

This shifts the burden to the vehicle owner to prove that indeed the towing personnel were negligent.  Expectedly, the towing personnel will be emboldened to perform their functions, unless of course the suspected “sabotage” from within the organization is a reality.

Yes, traffic mess is everybody’s concern.  It is not the just concern of the City Mayor or the bureaucracy.  It is every citizen’s concern.  And the core of this problem is the lack of discipline on the part of most road users and the propensity to boast of being exempted from complying with traffic rules and regulations – culture of impunity on the part of many, if you will.

I wanted to ask Doy why it has to be him who should bring up matters that will improve the traffic management, not the head of office.  But on second thought, I had to hold back because I did not want to put Doy on the spot even if it is not his doing.

But then again, one may start to suspect that we can expect nothing positive in the near future because it seems somebody who is supposed to make things happen is only good at attending meetings.  That office needs somebody who makes the job, not one who is made by the job.  One who has justified his salary grade.

(Egay Uy is a lawyer. He chairs the City’s Regulatory and Complaint Board, co-chairs with the city mayor the City Price Coordinating Council, and chairs the city’s Joint Inspection Team.  He retired as a vice president of Cepalco.)