About a thousand impounded vehicles in Mandaue City, Cebu would have been up for public auction, but certain legal processes have delayed disposal of the items.

The number of vehicles is observed to have filled almost the entire storage area on the ground floor of the old city public market. Most of these vehicles are motorcycles. 

The Mandaue City Government has mulled on another amnesty period for owners to pay the fines at a lower cost.

“We’re closely coordinating with LTO (Land Transportation Office), unsaon kadto mga owners, nadakpan mga registered owners gi-contact para manguha sila sa ilang [vehicle], dako ang posibilidad kani mga tawhana nalimot o wala nagpakabana tungod tingali sa nagkadako nga storage fee,” Hyll Retuya, assistant department head of Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue.

In 2023, the City Government launched an amnesty program so the owners can claim their impounded vehicles through lower fines. 

A public auction of the vehicles is deemed proper based on guidelines of the Commission on Audit on disposal of seized vehicles. However, the process may take time, he said. 

“Although we have legislations in place, naa na ta enabling ordinance bahin sa disposal, naa ta dynamics, parameters; ang ato lang jud wala na-prepare duna pa legal issues, such as ownership. Technically, you cannot dispose [of] something which is not yours,” Retuya added.