Business leader says parking space owners responsible for security
BUSINESS SECTOR leader Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippine (ECOP), said parking space owners should be made liable for security breaches in vehicles after a lawmaker announced she will hold a probe on car break-ins. In a radio interview on Sunday, Mr. Ortiz-Luis said his personal position is that those who collect fees for parking lots should be held responsible in ensuring the security in that space. “Naniniwala kami na dapat ‘yung parking area, responsibilidad ‘yan ng may malls….may responsibilidad sila d’yan sa pumupunta d’yan. Ang dami nang security guards, at ang CCTV nandun sa mga strategic area para protektado ang pumapasok sa kanila (We believe that parking areas should be the responsibility of the mall owners…they are responsible for those who go to their establishments. There are many guards and the CCTV should be put in strategic areas so customers will be safe),” he said. “If they’re not liable, who’s liable?” he said. ACT-CIS Party-list Representative Rowena Niña O. Taduran said last week that she will hold an inquiry in Congress over parking security after she herself was victimized at a shopping mall in Quezon City. Her parked vehicle was broken in, and the perpetrators took with them hundreds of thousands worth of items, including a government-issued laptop. A pending bill in the House of Representatives, numbered 3262, proposes to regulate parking fees and make parking lot owners liable for any loss or damage. Valenzuela 1st District Rep. Weslie T. Gatchalian, who introduced the bill, said police data show there were more than 1,000 parking lot incidents from 2016 to 2019, yet no establishment owner or parking operator was held responsible. — Gillian M. Cortez
