Cebu Daily News / News

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Monitoring system in Capitol parking lot Cebu Daily News Posted date: January 09, 2009 CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia wanted a monitoring system installed at the parking lot of the Capitol to determine its users and monitor how Capitol employees are using the several occupants pass that were issued to them. Garcia said she suspected that some employees were earning money from the issuance of the occupants pass, which entitles the bearer to a year-round use of the parking area for a fee of only P500. “I will have a monitoring system installed at the parking lot to check if those who applied for employees pass are the ones using the vehicles issued with such a pass,” she said. Garcia said the collection of parking fees was a policy implemented by the provincial government to regulate the use of the Capitol's parking area. While some employees complained of the policy, there were some who applied for two to three occupants pass. “All of a sudden, they now own several vehicles?” the governor asked. The governor said she would not allow this kind of “business venture” to prosper at the Capitol. “It's constantly a challenge for the chief executive to always be a little more clever than you are,” she said. Byron Garcia, Capitol security consultant, said a security camera would be installed at the entrance and exit of the parking area located beside the Capitol building over the weekend. He said the Capitol's security system would also be upgraded for the security cameras to recognize a vehicle's plate number. “We will have to do this to create safeguards to also protect our system,” he told . An investigation would also be conducted to determine who among the employees have turned the issuance of occupants pass into a business venture, Byron said. An occupants pass is issued to a Capitol employee. It contains the plate number of the bearer's vehicle and will be presented at the entrance of the Capitol parking area and swiped into a card scanner. The card will again be swiped at the exit card scanner before the vehicle is allowed to leave the parking area. During the general assembly last Monday, Governor Garcia mentioned the complaints of some Capitol employees on the implementation of the pay parking system. Garcia said that one employee even had his concern published in the “blind item corner” of a local daily. “I know who you are,” the governor said. Governor Garcia said that employees who cannot deal with her policies are free to leave. “If you can no longer stand the way we are running things here, you can always walk away,” she said. /Reporter Doris Bongcac