Davao speed limit gets solon saying ‘mea culpa’

DAVAO CITY—The city’s speed limit has snared its latest violator, militant lawmaker Carlos Isagani Zarate, who was cited for speeding as he drove in the city on Tuesday.

Zarate, of the party-list group Bayan Muna, said he learned his lesson.

Zarate, a resident of the city, said he bought medicine for his sister and was driving on MacArthur Highway on his way home from the downtown area around 11:25 p.m. when a traffic police officer flagged him down.

“I was startled when a uniformed police officer suddenly waived for me to stop,” he said in a post about the incident on his Facebook page.

He said after “courteously” greeting him, the police officer, whom he later identified as an SP01 Mallonga, showed him the numbers on the speed gun, which indicated 54 kilometers per hour.

“Mea culpa,” Zarate wrote.

“I was speeding in a 40-kph speed zone,” he added.

The Bayan Muna lawmaker said the police officer immediately “left after issuing me my TOP (traffic citation ticket) to attend to other speed limit violators.”

“Speed limits apply at all times, day and night in our city. No ifs, no buts,” he said of what he learned that night.

He used the hashtags #davaospeedlimit, #mydavao and #lifeishere on his post.

Zarate was the latest in the more prominent speed limit violators cited by traffic enforcers here after former mayor Sara Duterte, who was also issued a violation ticket for driving 57 kph on a 40 kph zone in January last year.

In June, visiting Philippine Councilors League (PCL) president Alma Moreno’s driver was also issued a ticket for driving 42 kph on a 30 kph zone. Moreno, who was attending a PCL convention here, was in the car, according to some reports.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 39 in October 2013, which limits the speed of vehicles in the city following a spike in road accidents here.

Under EO No. 39, vehicles should not run more than 60 kph from Sirawan to Ulas Crossing; from La-sang to Panacan; from Calinan to Ulas Crossing and from C.P. Garcia Highway-Mac-Arthur Highway to Panacan. It is 40 kph from Ulas to Generoso Bridge/Bolton Bridge in Bang-kerohan; from Panacan Crossing to J.P. Laurel Avenue-Alcantara; and from Ma-a Road Diversion to MacArthur Highway.

At the downtown area, no vehicle should run more than 30 kph.

The city council later adopted EO No. 39 and fines for violators were listed. First-time offenders will pay a fine of P2,000 and those who violate the speed limit a second time would be fined P3,000.

Repeat offenders face a fine of P10,000 and revocation of driving license.  Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao