Dumaguete City legal officer Neil Ray Lagahit defended the "Operation Night Eye" of the police station, denying observations that it had failed to yield positive effects on the campaign against traffic law violations.

Among the observations was that after paying penalties, owners of impounded motorcycles could get their vehicles back and return to the streets to commit the same traffic offenses.

But Lagahit dismissed this, stressing that police records show that not all the same persons were arrested time and again for recurrent violations. Lagahit also clarified that most traffic violations were minor in nature that include operating an unregistered vehicle, driving without license, and vehicles with faulty accessories.

In the case of driving without license, Lagahit explained that majority were arrested because, although they have licenses, they failed to bring the papers with them.

He also clarified that impounded motorcycles with faulty accessories are released only once the owners reattached them in the presence of authorities.

He also said that unregistered motorcycles will not be released if the owners failed to register them with the Land Transportation Office.

Lagahit attributed the number of apprehensions in police checkpoints to the volume of motorcycles in Dumaguete City.*RG

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