Mayor John Dalipe has expressed full and unequivocal support to an ordinance passed by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of the city of Zamboanga prohibiting parking on city streets.
Ordinance No. 601, enacted on March 13 this year, amended Ordinance 248 which used to allow one sided parking for private vehicles and the use of city streets as terminals for public utility vehicles.
The measure is a city hall sponsored ordinance crafted by the City Legal Office based on Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2019-121 directing the removal of illegal road obstructions.
The DILG directive enjoined all sanggunians to revisit ordinances and similar legislative measures to ensure responsiveness to the presidential directive and consistent with related laws and policies.
The said DILG circular clearly stressed that non-compliance of the said circular shall be a ground for appropriate administrative sanctions pursuant to the Local Government Code Of 1991 and other existing laws and national government policies.
In October 2022, Mayor John Dalipe, through the Office of the City Administrator, entered into negotiations with a property owner within the town proper to transform a 9,000 square meter property into a parking area for private vehicles.
The move is directed towards providing ample parking spaces to motorists affected by the said directive.
The local government is in the process of looking for more idle lots in the city to respond to the clamor of motorists for parking spaces within the city proper. (Liza Jocson)
(Source: City Government of Zamboanga Facebook page)