By Joseph B.A. Marzan
The amended Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) of Iloilo City could be implemented as early as May 2023, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas after he formally received the approved plan from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-Region 6 (LTFRB-6).
Treñas received on Tuesday the February 14, 2023 letter signed by LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III, which was coursed through LTFRB-6 Regional Director Richard Osmeña.
He had already announced the board’s approval last Thursday, March 16, stating then that they were only waiting for the formal delivery of the communication.
Treñas said that he expects the “enhanced” plan to be taken up by the Sangguniang Panglungsod by next week, and the actual implementation to start “within one-and-a-half months” or 45 days, most likely in May. He also nixed the idea of further amending the LPTRP.
“This is the final result [of the LPTRP]. If we keep subjecting to amendments, I may not live to see [the approved plan],” the mayor quipped.
Details of the approved amended plan, which were attached to the letter, have yet to be revealed to the media.
LTFRB-6 Transportation Development Officer II Joshua Gaquit said the next amendments to the city’s LPTRP may only be done in three years.
Treñas conformed with the arrangement by signing Guadiz’s letter, which would be returned to the central office via notice of compliance.
“The three-year limitation is under the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines of the [Department of Transportation] which is the main guideline [of the LPTRP]. [The LPTRP] was actually supposed to be amended only after three years but they gave exemption to Iloilo City to enhance its routes,” said Gaquit.
He also confirmed that only eight local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas, including Iloilo City, have approved LPTRPs – being Pototan, Iloilo; Dumarao, Capiz; San Carlos City, Negros Occidental; and Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
Passi City and the provincial governments of Antique and Iloilo have been approved according to Gaquit, but the notices of compliance have yet to be released.
LGUs may be subject to sanctions by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) if they fail or refuse to submit an LPTRP.
The deadline for the submission of LPTRPs has already passed, said Gaquit, but the DOTr has continued to extend the deadlines considering the change of local and national administrations, among other factors.
After the notice of compliance has been given to the central office, the LTFRB letter would be given to the Sangguniang Panglungsod to enact as an ordinance, the latter of which would be subject to another memorandum circular from the board.
Once the memorandum circular has been issued and the qualified operators have been elected, the plan may now be fully implemented.
The LPTRP was first implemented in Iloilo City on June 12 but was suspended shortly after, on July 1, due to public clamor from both commuters and transport groups alike due to the lack of allowed units, as well as the elimination of “first towns” routes from neighboring Leganes, Pavia, Oton, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara towns.
