ILOILO City – Long queues. Very few city loop jeepneys. Unfamiliar new city routes.
City-bound commuters were subjected to these and more yesterday, the first working day of the week and the second day of implementation of Iloilo City’s Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., boarding a city loop jeepney from the transport terminals particularly in Barangay Tagbak (Jaro district) and Barangay Mohon (Arevalo district) was a stiff competition among people jostling for a ride.
Tommy Almirante of Zarraga, Iloilo told Panay News he should be in his workplace by 8 a.m. but it was already 8:30 a.m. and he was still stuck at the Tagbak terminal.
“Dapat antes sila nag-implement LPTRP gin siguro nila bastante ang mga salakyan,” lamented Almirante.
Worse, he said, the LPTRP forced him to “double ride” to reach Molo district where he worked, which would mean spending twice now for his fare.
“Bugas-bugas lang obra ta pay late ta pa,” said Almirante.
Commuters that got stuck at the Mohon terminal from 30 minutes to an hour were from the southern towns of Iloilo province and from Antique province.
Those at the Tagbak terminal, on the other hand, were from all the towns north of Iloilo City (Leganes, Zarraga, Passi City, 4th District towns, 5th District towns) and commuters from the provinces of Capiz and Aklan.
“Tani gin plastar nila sang maayo. Kon may bag-uhon sila, na-preparar man nila ang mga salakyan para ang mga tawo indi maperwisyohan,” said John Coja of Banate, Iloilo.
He positioned himself by the roadside outside the Tagbak terminal in the hope of getting ahead of everybody else in catching a jeepney ride to the City Proper.
The dearth in city loop jeepneys forced Lara Mae Subiron of Leganes, Iloilo to just look for a taxi. But even taxis yesterday were also few.
“Waay jeep. No choice gid kami. Palpak gid. Mga commuters naga-suffer,” said Soubiron.
Next time, said Soubiron, she would wake up very early, perhaps at 4 a.m. so she won’t have to suffer waiting for city loop jeepney at the Tagbak terminal. “Kami makaluluoy.”
In an interview two weeks ago, the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC) which operates modern jeepneys in Iloilo City and still have member-operators with traditional jeepneys assured the public that they have enough vehicles haul provincial passengers from transport terminals to the city.
LPTRP prohibits provincial jeepneys from entering the city. They are only up to the transport terminals located in the city’s border barangays. Taking city-bound provincial passengers from the transport terminals to the city would solely be the task of city loop jeepneys.
According to Raymundo Parcon, WVTC is composed 17 city-based transport associations and they have sufficient number of jeepneys to move city-bound people from the transport terminals, and even serve new city routes.
But according to Nerry Mae Porras of Pavia, Iloilo, the LPTRP would make daily commuting more expensive.
“Gasto gid sa pamasahe kay waay na nagasulod ang Pavia nga jeep sa Iloilo City. Asta na lang GT Mall or Christ the King (memorial park). Ti, masakay naman kami sa highway para makasulod sa Iloilo City,” said Porras.
For friends Flory Mae Jagonasi, Geraldine Garcia and Rose Abello who all work in a private company in Mandurriao district, it is even a “triple ride” from the Tagbak terminal to their office.
“Wala gid pulos (LPTRP). Three rides kami tapos late-late pa,” said Jagonasi.
“Kaina pa kami diri alas-siete. Isa na kami ka oras gahulat city loop jeep,” said Garcia.
Why enforce the LPTRP when the number of city loop jeepneys is not yet sufficient to transport city-bound people from the terminals, asked Abello./PN
