Route plan not needed for trike franchise renewal

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The head of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) in Iloilo City on Wednesday clarified that the Local Public Transportation Route Plan (LPTRP) is not necessary for the renewal of tricycle franchises.

Franchise renewal in Iloilo City had been stalled since 2017 after the DILG and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 001 on June 19, 2017.

Section 6(a) of JMC No. 001 ordered a moratorium on local government units’ (LGUs) acceptance of applications or petitions for tricycle franchises pending the approval of their LPTRP.

The LPTRP is also part of the national government’s push under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, led by the DOTr.

Franchises for tricycles and other smaller modes of public transport are granted by LGUs, while those for jeepneys, buses, and other PUVs which are greater in size are issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

In his privilege speech during the city council’s regular session on April 20, 2021, Councilor Romel Duron called on authorities to relax citations against tricycles with expired franchises.

Duron estimated that the franchises of 80 percent of 3,876 tricycle operators in the city have already expired as early as 2017.

The Committee on Transportation, Energy, and Public Utilities, which Duron also chairs, conducted a public hearing on Wednesday to hear updates on the LPTRP and hear the sentiments of local and regional officials and public transport operators who were affected.

Present during the hearing were Councilors Duron, Acap, Estante, and Javellana, as well as other city government officials involved in the crafting of the LPTRP and representatives from public transport groups, primarily from jeepney and tricycle operators.

During the hearing, City Planning and Development Officer Jose Roni Peñalosa told the committee that the DOTr had returned the LPTRP previously submitted by the city.

Peñalosa explained that the DOTr recommended minor changes to the Iloilo City LPTRP, including:

-Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas’ executive order creating the team to draft the LPRTP, which should be part of its introduction, not as an Annex;

-A survey of the daily number of public transport passengers per route; and

-Correction on the manner that data and survey results are to be presented.

Peñalosa explained further that the survey would require two weeks of surveyors going through all existing city routes, which he said Treñas had already agreed to provide 30 personnel to help out.

But Engr. Joshua Gaquit of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-Region (LTFRB-6), said that the city may opt to tap transport groups and instead conduct the survey involving jeepney drivers instead of passengers themselves.

Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations (ICLAJODA) President Boyet Parcon expressed frustration during the hearing, revealing that because the LPTRP had not been approved, they failed to secure loans for their new units under the PUVMP as well as renew their franchises with the LTFRB-6.

Peñalosa was not able to commit a deadline or a timeframe when the LPTRP would be re-submitted to the DOTr through the LTFRB, but he said that only the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) or its chief, Jeck Conlu, can answer the matter.

Daily Guardian has reached out to Conlu as of this writing, but he has yet to respond.

But Conlu earlier said they have submitted the approved routes in the city while the data on the number of tricycles in the city is with the business permits and licensing office and the City Council.

During the hearing, DILG Iloilo City Director Oscar Lim provided the interpretation of Section 6(a) of JMC No. 001, stating that it only referred to new franchise applications, not renewals of existing franchises.

Lim did not tell Daily Guardian in an interview if that was the official position of the DILG, but only said that it was “the language of the [JMC].”

Duron said that due to Lim’s interpretation, the city council may be able to pass a full, 3-year renewal of existing and recently expired franchises, instead of a previously proposed 1-year provisional authority.

When asked if they would seek further clarification as to the interpretation of the JMC, Duron told Daily Guardian that they “did not find the need”.

“There is no need for that. What is important is that we help the tricycle operators. If we made a mistake [in interpreting], then they should correct us. We have to take the risk in doing what is right under these circumstances,” Duron said.

Once the LPTRP is approved by the DOTr and a notice of compliance is issued, the Iloilo City Council will adopt and implement the said plan via ordinance.