ILOILO City – Drivers ditched plastic barriers separating passengers in public utility vehicles (PUVs) following a directive from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
There are no medical findings that plastic dividers prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission, according to Assistant Transportation Secretary Mark Steven Pastor.
“Instead, the virus could stick to them,” he added.
Local transport groups welcomed the development.
“Passengers would be more comfortable riding jeepneys,” said Rizal Alido, general manager of the Iloilo City Alliance of Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC) and president of the City Loop Integrated Alliance of Jeepney Owners and Drivers Association (ICLIAJODA).
Meanwhile, Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA), disclosed that some drivers were not maintaining well heir plastic barriers.
“Iba nga drivers salawayon, biskan trapo wala gid,” said Parcon.
But while plastic barriers in PUVs are no longer required, passengers should continue wearing facemasks and face shields.
In September 2020, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chief, Martin Delgra clarified “there was no official policy” from his agency and DOTr that required jeepneys to install plastic barriers in their vehicles.
He said even the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases did not order the use of such.
However, he did not discourage jeepney drivers from doing so.
Doctors have long been recommending the removal of plastic barriers inside PUVs because they were useless without physical distancing.
In August, Philippine College of Physicians president, Dr. Maricar Limpin said the virus “might stick to the plastic and infect people.”/PN
