TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite — Cavite’s province-wide Unified Vehicular Reduction System (UVRS), otherwise known as Cavite’s “vehicle number coding scheme” shall be enforced effective February 5.
In an announcement over the weekend, Cavite Governor Jesus Crispin Remulla said the local legislation aimed to regulate the volume of private cars, vans, and trucks plying along the province’s national highways or provincial roads that were identified as choke points or gridlocked-roads.
The number coding scheme was sponsored by Vice Governor Ramon Jolo B. Revilla III and Board member Gilbert Gandia, chair of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial legislative council) Committee on Transportation and Communication.
Provincial Ordinance No. 164 – Series of 2016 was enacted by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in 2016 but was subsequently amended by Provincial Ordinance No. 173 – Series of 2017 requiring the issuance of implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for its effectivity.
A legislative council Resolution No. 877 early this year has prescribed the rules and regulations for the UVRS paving the way for its enforcement starting February 5 this year.
Under the IRR, the UVRS shall be enforced from Monday to Friday starting 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. providing “window hours” from 10:01 a.m. to 2:59 p.m.
The vehicle number coding scheme covers major thoroughfares such as Aguinaldo Highway (AH), covering the stretch of Bacoor to Dasmariǹas-Silang boundary; Molino-Salawag-Paliparan Road (MSPR) from Zapote, Bacoor to Paliparan, Dasmariǹas City;
Molino Boulevard (MB) from Aguinaldo Highway to Molino-Salawag-Paliparan Road and Governor’s Drive (GD), covering the stretch of Carmona to Trece Martires City, and such other roads and highways, as may be identified later as a choke or gridlocked roads.
Private vehicles (cars, vans) and trucks with license plate or conduction stickers ending in 1 and 2 are prohibited from traversing the province’s identified major roads on Monday, 3 and 4 on Tuesday, 5 and 6 on Wednesday, 7 and 8 on Thursday and 9 and 0 on Friday.
Exempted from the number coding scheme are PEZA registered trucks, all public utility vehicles (jeepneys and buses), ambulance, firetrucks, police patrol cars, military vehicles with permanent markings that indicate the vehicles’ use like private hospital ambulances and firetrucks which are privately owned but properly marked as such.
Some exemptions on the UVRS apply to vehicles carrying person/s on emergency situations, medical attention, government vehicles with government marked plates, vehicles used by medical practitioner in an emergency, duly franchised school buses, and vehicles on a mission to carry relief goods to identified calamity or highly depressed areas.
Other vehicles may apply for exemption such as vehicles delivering perishable goods in commercial quantity (fresh vegetables, fruits, flowers, raw meat, fresh seafoods, ice products, baked products, medicine/vaccine and catering/cooked food), vehicles used as company shuttle service, funeral service vehicles and those used by doctors, public attorneys, prosecutors, members of the Judiciary, tourism agents and business locators.
However, the exemption allows for only one vehicle for every person covered, which vehicle shall be registered in his/her name and is valid for one year.
The exemption once approved carries with it a signage sticker that can be secured from the Road Safety Division of the Provincial Governor’s office upon compliance with the required documents and payment of necessary fee.
Said exemption sticker will be considered invalid by the subsequent transfer of ownership over the exempted motor vehicle.
The Office of the Provincial Governor, through the Road Safety Division (RSD), shall be mainly responsible for the implementation of this ordinance.
Cities and municipalities within the Province, through their respective Traffic Management Offices, may be authorized to implement this Ordinance where their respective traffic agents shall be duly deputized for this purpose.
The ordinance also gives full authority to the governor to revise or amend this IRR, as he may deem fit, to effectively implement Provincial Ordinance No. 164 – Series of 2016, as amended by Provincial Ordinance No. 173 – Series of 2017, and other related ordinances, subject to the concurrence of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
The governor is likewise authorized to enter into agreements with other local government units and entities, such as homeowner’s associations and other agencies for the effective implementation of the afore-mentioned ordinances.
Violation of the ordinance will result in confiscation of his/her driver’s license, issuance of a traffic citation ticket and a fine of PHP300.
Any person apprehended may contest the same before a “committee of 3” members, consisting of the Chairman of the Transportation Committee of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, the Provincial Legal
Officer, and such other member to be designated by the governor, prior to the payment of the fine.
Any person found to be abusing the authority or exemptions granted under this Ordinance shall be meted out a penalty of PHP5,000 and/or imprisonment of one year, at the discretion of the court, without prejudice to the filing of the appropriate administrative action against the erring public officer.
The fines collected shall be deposited to the trust fund and used exclusively for projects or programs for the improvement of traffic and road safety in the province.
Cities and municipalities may issue violation tickets and are entitled to 60 percent of the fees actually collected by them. (PNA)
