BACOLOD City – The planned five-day transport strike of a group of traditional jeepney drivers and operators slated February 17 to 21 in this city was cancelled.
This comes after the passage of a resolution by the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) requesting the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to extend a special dispensation of grace in behalf of all affected members of transport sector here.
The SP’s decision followed the Negros United Transport Coalition’s (NUTC) appeal to give traditional jeepneys a chance to renew their permits.
During the SP’s regular session on February 12, Lilian Sembrano, president of Kabacolod Negros Transport Coalition (KNETCO) and lead convenor of NUTC, made an appearance before the SP in relation to the statement earlier issued by Patrick Lacson, head of the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO), concerning the February 16 deadline set by the city against public utility vehicles (PUVs) operating without permits.
Councilor Renecito Novero however stressed that Councilor Al Victor Espino had earlier made it clear that BTAO has no authority to apprehend PUVs for no franchise.
Meanwhile, based on the record of the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office (BPLO) as of February 10, there were only 584 PUVs that have processed their permits.
Of the number, 562 are modern jeepneys, 17 are traditional jeepneys, and five are electric jeepneys.
BPLO head Stela Rose Rayos said only PUVs issued with a mayor’s permit are allowed to operate in the city.
She added that one of the requirements in processing the mayor’s permit is a franchise or a provisional authority.
It was reported earlier that of the around 3,000 traditional jeepneys in the locality, more than half have been consolidated after joining a cooperative in line with the national government’s Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
The NUTC, for its part, failed to secure a provisional authority from the LTFRB due to their stand against the PUV consolidation scheme, which they believe will lead to the monopoly of the transport sector./PN
