CEBU CITY — Allowing the traditional public utility vehicles (PUVs) to resume operations has to be studied carefully, the top police official in Central Visayas said.
Police Brig. Gen. Albert Ignatius Ferro, chief of the Police Regional Office Central Visayas (PRO 7), said he will meet with city mayor Edgardo Labella after the city government has started processing the return of 1,355 PUVs in the city.
“It should be a collegial decision. I will ask the good mayor for more dialogue and brainstorming because I think in some places in the Philippines, jeepneys are not yet allowed,” Ferro said in a virtual press conference Wednesday.
Ferro, who is the commander of the Regional Joint Task Force-Central Visayas COVID Shield, said security measures must be in place in case the plan to allow the traditional PUVs to resume operations pushes through.
For Ferro, allowing the return of more jeepneys has a corresponding risk.
“If our local government is willing to take that risk, we in the security cluster would like to recalibrate those risks. We have to really come up with a best analysis on this and come up with best courses of action because we cannot allow for us to return to ECQ,” Ferro said.
The city has set requirements for the Balik Pasada Program including coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing for drivers which was scheduled to start yesterday.
Drivers must also secure the necessary permits from the Land Transportation Office and City Transportation Office so they can start plying their routes again.