ILOILO CITY – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has approved the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) of the Iloilo City government nine months after it was hastily implemented. COMMUTERS ride a mini-bus in Iloilo City. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has given the go-signal to the city government to implement the Local Public Transport Route Plan. (Tara Yap) “Once it is officially released to the city, we will immediately implement the same,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas in a statement. The Iloilo City government implemented the LPTRP last June and this city would have become the first local government unit in the country to implement the phaseout of traditional passenger jeepneys with mini-buses. However, Treñas ordered the temporary suspension of the LPTRP as it was implemented without public consultation and available mini-buses were not enough to serve the riding public. The LPTRP also reduced public utility jeepney routes, especially those that ferry passengers to neighboring towns. This heavily burdened workers in the government and private sector who had to ride another public utility vehicle to get to their destinations and pay additional fares from the regional capital of Western Visayas. The LPTRP was revised based on inputs from the delayed public consultation and afterwards submitted to the LTFRB. Public transport cooperatives are awaiting the arrival of additional mini-bus unit to serve the riding public.