Road Scene 3

this episode of Road Scene is a rather sad one. it was around 7 AM at the back of Cebu Doctor's Hospital when my car was clamped by CITOM.

you see, my sister-in-law was already in labor at the Chong Hua Hospital delivery room when the doctor advised us to buy blood at Cebu Doctor's Blood Bank for possible use. i was honestly a little panicky then. i was never a fan of hospitals, let alone the prospect of blood infusion. so i honestly did not see the No Parking sign. in fact, even if i saw it, i probably would have ignored it, the time being 7AM, rather ungodly for CITOM officers.

so when my mother and i went back to where i parked the car, there was the CITOM sign announcing to the world that i had been irresponsible and i needed to settle my violation at the CITOM office at the back of LTO. i was quiet furious (a little nervous because i was carrying a bag of blood, type B+), and i immediately searched the street for uniformed men. i found one and stopped short of shoving the bag of blood in the officer's face explaining the "emergency" because of which i can justify my violation to the rules of the city streets. i was in the second minute of my justified berration of the officer's inconsideration when i realized i was talking to a parking attendant. doh. so i asked my mom to take a cab back to Chong Hua and i took a cab myself. driver's license and car registration (both complete with official receipts from the government of the republic), i went straight to CITOM office.

the picture you see above is not a jail cell. it is where the tax-paying citizens of Cebu City queue and wait for their names to be called and settle clamping violations. quiet dismal if you'd ask me. it makes gotham city jail look shabby chic. the CITOM office reeks of testosterone, every corner and nook of the building. no wonder middle-aged women who work there, who could otherwise look like Martha Stewarts or even Demi Moores (why not?) have all decided to just give up on their looks and promptly dress and act like brute hooligans.

i was informed that the violation would set me back P500. fine with me, just take the damned clamp off my left front wheel, thank you. but first, CITOM must search thru my past violations, if any, and settle those. fine with me, i have never had any since that morning's clamping incident.

so i waited. and out came a receipt this long:

it was all the violations committed under my plate number for the past 11 years!!! (well, i told you i drive an old car.) imagine that, from running a red light, illegal stopping, illegal accessory, you name it! and the bill? the bill, you ask? P4,000!!!!

faced with the choice of having my car impounded and dragged by a towing car (all of which i must pay), i gave in and payed. doh.

PREVIOUS OWNER OF MY CAR: i will hunt you down, and shove this receipt in your throat! i will make you pay for your violations and charge you tripple for my efforts. i settled your violations, man! it was you who ran the red light, not me! it was you who did not stop when you should have, not me! it was you who committed six unattended vehicle violations near Osmena Circle, six! SIX! i will hunt you, and make you pay!

then again, my Christian upbringing compels me to go easy on you. just the same, what you did was bad, you.. you... you... TRAFFIC VIOLATOR!

Lord, can i just call him a really foul name for once? grrr....