The ‘Task Force Marshal’ in Dagupan City is again the talk of the town after its chief was reported to have brandished an armalite to intimidate and scare off barangay officials of Poblacion Oeste on All Saints’ Day Nov. 1.

Adel Malapit, head of the task force, admitted over a radio station he, indeed, carried an M-16 Armalite rifle that day but he did so as among the army reservists mobilized by Camp Tito Abat to provide security at the Eternal Gardens where they were reportedly posted.

He was performing two duties that day, both as a reservist and as head of Task Force Marshal deployed at the Dagupan pool site. He said his deployment as a reservist was covered by a mission order from his superior.

The barangay officials of Poblacion Oeste were looking into complaints that motorists parking their vehicles at the pool site were asked to pay P100 or more as parking fee inside the premises while visiting the tombs of their relatives at the Dagupan City cemetery.

Councilwoman Lolita Vallejos, a former barangay chairman, said the barangay never collected parking fees from motorists parked inside the pool site on All Saints Day.

The pool site is located in Poblacion Oeste with Guillermo Vallejos, son of Lolita, as barangay captain.

The elder Vallejos got angry when informed that members of Task Force Marshal were behind the illegal collection of parking fees.

Malapit, toting the armalite, waved off the barangay officials who confronted him and rejected the latter’s complaint.

Councilor Michael Fernandez, members of the Task Force Marshal had no legal authority to collect parking fees inside the pool site.

He said there was no ordinance passed by the city council authorizing the collection of parking fees at the pool site, much less authorizing the task force to collect any fee when it was created.

The councilor reminded the members of Task Force Marshal that they are casual employees whose main duty is only to secure public buildings and edifices.

In the same vein, he said the barangay council of Poblacion Oeste can not collect parking fees either in the same premises because the pool site is now owned by the city after it was turned over to it by the Philippine Tourism Authority.

Councilor Karlos Reyna agreed with Fernandez saying that any authority to collect parking fee at the pool site which is now owned by the city must emanate from the city council in the form of an ordinance.-LM

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