Mayor in ‘quandary’ amid calls to postpone transport route plan

The long-overdue Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) is set to take effect by June 12, 2022.

Yet, several transport groups called for its postponement as they foresee drastic changes to the traffic scheme which will adversely affect jeepney drivers and commuters in the city.

Hence, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas admitted that he is also in a quandary as to how to implement the transport route plan.

According to the mayor, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) have required the city government to implement the LPTRP.

Now that the LPTRP was approved by the LTO and LTFRB, Treñas lamented that some groups are still clamoring.

“Ang LTO kag LTFRB ginpangabay gid kami nga aprubahan and we came up with this plan. Now that we have this plan and it is already in place, may mga grupo naman nga naga pangayo indi pagi-implement ang plan. We really are in a quandary kay LTFRB man ni kag LTO ang naghambal sa amon so I don’t really know what we are supposed to do now,” he said during the press conference on Monday.

Treñas said that modernized jeeps are already being deployed in the metro in preparation for the implementation of the transport route plan.

In case the public utility vehicles (PUVs) will not be enough to cater to the passengers, the mayor added that the city will allow old jeepneys to ferry the passengers.

“Modernized jeeps are already being deployed. Kon magkulang, we will allow the old jeepneys to service our passengers,” he said.

The LPTRP, which includes 17 rationalized routes and seven new routes in Iloilo City, shall take effect on June 12, 2022.

The LPTRP also prohibits the entry of provincial jeepneys to the city.

Provincial jeepneys from the nearby towns of San Joaquin, Miagao, Tigbauan, Oton, Pavia, Santa Barbara, Leganes, and San Miguel will not be allowed to enter the city and their routes shall be limited to the transport terminals in the city.

Nevertheless, the mayor said he is open to sit down and hear the queries of the transport sector who will be affected by the LPTRP.

“We will see what the city can do but masyado ka importante ang LPTRP. All the cities and provinces were required to approve the plans,” he said.

Several transport groups have called to defer the implementation of the LPTRP in the city citing the limited number of PUVs and the bulk of commuters in the metro.

In an interview with Aksyon Radyo Iloilo, Joemarie delos Reyes, chairman of Metro Iloilo Transport Service Cooperative, admitted that the LPTRP will affect the jeepney operators and drivers as well as commuters.

Delos Reyes added that several jeepney drivers might be displaced once the LPTRP takes effect.

“Number one ang aton mga commuters. Ikaduha ang mga jeepney operators kag drivers naton, basi ma-displace. Ginatun-an pa ‘ni. It’s just a plan. A plan is a plan, but how about the implementation? Mapatuman bala ni naton subong? I don’t think so,” he said in the radio interview.

Delos Reyes lamented that the transport sector is not ready to implement the LPTRP particularly the city-loop jeepneys citing the bulk of passengers in the metro.

“We are not ready. Come to think of the volume of passengers. Indi ta ni ‘ya basta-basta nga matandog ang amo nga scenario. We have to talk. We have to make adjustments… I don’t think the city-loop jeepneys can cater all of these,” he added. (DG)