CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A group of ‘bao-bao’ tricab drivers here said they only wanted to increase their meager income. Armando Villaflor, president of the BPATCTODA (Bugo Puerto Agusan Tablon Cugman Tricab Operators and Drivers’ Association), made the statement in response to the earlier statement of Councilor Romeo Calizo, chairman of the city council’s committee on public utilities, that ‘bao-bao’ tricabs cannot be used for public transportation. Villaflor said no bao-bao operators in BPATCTODA, including the other groups so far had received a permit from the city government to allow them catering passengers. “Sometimes we asked ourselves why we were unable to get the permit while the other cities in Mindanao allowed the bao-bao tricabs to cater passengers,” he said in vernacular in a phone interview with the Manila Bulletin on Wednesday, March 22. Calizo, however, reiterated that tricabs are prohibited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) from traveling on national highways. Calizo cited the LTO declaration that the vehicle cannot also be used as public transportation and that the registration given by the LTO to the bao-bao tricabs is only for private use. “Pwede man sila makagamit anang bao-bao for private use, pero dili pwede pamasada (They can use their bao-bao vehicle for private use, but they are not allowed to use it as public transport),” Calizo said in a separate phone interview with the Manila Bulletin. Even for private use, bao-bao tricabs, together with the tricycles and pedicabs are still prohibited from traveling on national highways based on Memorandum Circular 2020-036 from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). On March 17, City Mayor Rolando Uy convened the top officials of LTO, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and other line agencies, including the representatives of various transport groups, to tackle the bao-bao operation in the city. The meeting was in response to the United Drivers Association’s petition letter dated March 15 to the City Mayor’s Office, in which the jeepney drivers from the barangays of Kauswagan, Bonbon, and Bayabas complained about the hard time in picking up passengers because of the presence of bao-bao tricabs in their routes.  The BPATCTODA president said the bao-bao drivers were willing not to pick up passengers along national highways as long as they had alternative routes, noting that they could, if given permission, ply the same routes as the tricycle drivers. Calizo said he understood the situation of the bao-bao drivers, hence, the city council’s committee on public utilities has drafted a position paper to be submitted to the national government, asking for a possible amendment of the law to fully allow the use of bao-bao tricabs as public transport. BPATCTODA expressed hope that the city government’s measure would be realized, as they want to operate in the city without fear from the eyes of the authorities.