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[av_heading heading=’Tagbak terminal operator: ‘We’re waiting for lawyers’ advice’ ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY MERIANNE GRACE EREÑETA
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ILOILO City – The operator of the transport terminal in Barangay Tagbak, Jaro district have yet to take their next step in light of a court ruling nullifying the ordinance that allows the nearby Barangay Camalig to host a terminal.
“We are waiting for our lawyers to say what to do next,” Alberto Ladrido III told Panay News.
Judge Victorino Oliveros Maniba Jr. of the Regional Trial Court Branch 39 declared Regulation Ordinance 2014-049 “null and void.”
Regulation Ordinance 2014-049 amended Regulation Ordinance 2013-3444 (Perimeter Boundary Ordinance) to include Camalig and Buhang, also in Jaro, in the barangays allowed to host terminals for vehicles from northern Iloilo.
That the franchise ordinance (2014-015) for the Ceres bus terminal in Barangay Camalig was approved a week before Regulation Ordinance 2013-3444 was amended bolstered the argument that 2014-049 favored the operator Vallacar Transit, Inc., the court said.
Juna Labordo, et al. filed the case against Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, et al.
“Nalipay man kita kay pinamatian sang huwes dira sa Branch 39 ang panawagan sang aton nga plaintiffs,” said Ladrido.
On Dec. 1, 2015 Vallacar Transit, Inc. moved all its buses from Tagbak terminal to its own terminal in Camalig.
In effect the court also heard the lament of those who lost their livelihood, Ladrido noted.
“Nakita naton ano kasadya diri (sa Tagbak terminal), but when they (Ceres) left, more or less 30 micro, small and medium enterprises ang naapektuhan,” he said.
In case the legal battle leads to the closure of the Ceres bus terminal, Ladrido said the Tagbak terminal is still willing to accommodate Ceres buses.
Maniba ordered the city government to “cease and desist” from carrying out Regulation Ordinance 2014- 049.
The “inescapable conclusion, therefore, is that Regulation Ordinance 2014- 049 is an invalid ordinance because it was enacted to favor a particular person or entity, an act proscribed by Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code,” he said./PN
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