Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s veto of the proposed ordinance exempting senior citizens from the coding schemes of the city is “not an objection” and the system is set for testing this month, Magalong clarified.
“The veto is not an objection to the proposal. We just need to subject this first to an experiment to gain insight as to its effect on our traffic situation,” he said.
Accordingly, the traffic scheme exempting senior citizens from the number coding scheme will begin its experimental run on August 19, 2024, and will run for as long as three months to gain testing data for review on whether it is a feasible system.
“We just need time to implement a proper traffic impact study like this traffic experiment to gather data to determine its effect on our overall traffic situation,” he said.
In his prior veto message transmitted to the City Council, the mayor expressed appreciation for the initiative of the body in incorporating respect and incentives for senior citizens who are constituents of the city, as they deserve courtesy in light of their many contributions to society.
Under the approved ordinance, in order to be exempted from the provisions of the number coding scheme, the motor vehicle must be used by a senior citizen who is a resident of the city.
However, he claimed that the said provision might be discriminatory to other senior citizens who may not be residents of the city but who traverse the roads on a daily or regular basis for essential and urgent purposes, such as those seeking healthcare in the city’s many premier hospitals.
Magalong also previously raised other concerns regarding the technicalities of the ordinance, such as the need for employment IDs and medical documents, and the possibility that unclear implementation would instead cause traffic as officers conduct inquiries.
