CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A transport cooperative official has criticized the city government for the lack of implementation of the Local Public Transport Route Plan here.
A TRADITIONAL jeepney on Gaerlan St., Cagayan de Oro City. (Franck Dick Rosete)
Luzminda Escobidal, manager of the PN Roa Canitoan Transport Cooperative, said the matter has caused problems for them and other corporations in the city that backed the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.
Escobidal said they could not take the situation caused by various modes of transportation on their route anymore.
She urged the local government to strictly implement the transport route plan. “That’s our only appeal. It’s a small thing in order for us not to get into trouble on the streets,” she said in an interview on Saturday, March 2.
“If you don’t work on that, I’ll go wild,” Escobidal, who is also the chief executive officer of the Northern Mindanao Federation of Transport Cooperative, added.
The city government was criticized following an incident on Friday, March 1, where Escobidal went viral after uploading a video in which she was calling out a bao-bao (tricab) driver for picking up passengers in their designated terminal. Tricabs are still prohibited from being used as public transportation here.
On February 21, Pontransco wrote a letter to Mayor Rolando Uy asking him to strictly implement the LPTRP but no action was taken.
Escobidal disclosed that their daily income has been reduced by a few thousand pesos due to the presence of bao-baos. She said this mode of transportation is illegal and consequently unfair to them and others who obtained and pay loans to purchase modernized jeepneys.
The Pontransco manager recounted that no personnel from the Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) assisted them during the initial implementation of the LPTRP on January 29 in their route in Barangay Bayabas.
The RTA’s assistance was needed as there were tricycles and pedicabs that had been affected by LPTRP.
RTA Department Manager Engr. Nonito Oclarit has been sought to comment but he has yet to respond as of posting time.
Apart from calling out a tricab driver, Escobidal was also seen in the video indirectly telling commuters not to take tricabs as Pontransco’s modernized jeepneys had already started operations.
Netizens who commented on the video bashed her for interfering with commuters’ right to choose.
“Even if they would ride a horse, ma'am, you don’t have the right to tell people what they want. They are the ones who earn their money to pay for fares, not you. Don’t make the decision since you are not the one feeding them,” a social media user said.
The video also showed a male commuter holding a plastic basket trying to negotiate with a tricab driver but it was prevented after Escobidal interfered, telling the tricab driver to respect them.
The Pontransco manager was not finished as she went to some commuters waiting and aggressively told them: “We, passengers, should also bear in mind that we are servicing you here. Our buses went out as early as 3 a.m. but you chose to take a ride with those illegal transport.”
Escobidal asserted that their 3 a.m. start of operation was on track as the public asked for this time.
She said that their buses only have 15 to 20 minutes waiting time prior to departure, the most common reason why commuters who are in a hurry prefer tricabs over jeepneys.
Escobidal was also criticized for always mentioning the possible dangers for passengers riding tricabs which don’t have passenger insurance.
“If they got involved in an accident, that’s their problem. Don’t make that a problem, as you have nothing to do with them and you couldn’t help if something happened to them. Just don't bother the people where they want to ride. If I’m the passenger, I pity you if that’s how you interact,” a netizen said.
Call for regulation
Armando Villaflor, president of the Bugo-Puerto-Agusan-Tablon-Cugman Tricab Operators and Drivers Association (BPATCTODA), understood the sentiments of Pontransco and reiterated his call on the city government to grant their appeal for bao-bao regulation to avoid these incidents.
“We are hoping that they will give us a permit so that it will be fair for all,” Villaflor said on Saturday, stressing that they have been appealing to the city government since 2017.
On January 9, Councilor James Judith II proposed an ordinance that seeks to regulate bao-baos by allowing them to travel on primary national highways as private vehicles and become public transportation on secondary roads.
The group thanked the legislator for his proposal, which is still subject to further discussion on the committee level.
READ: https://mb.com.ph/2024/1/9/operators-thank-cagayan-de-oro-dad-for-bao-bao-ordinance
Escobidal backed the regulation of tricabs.