Thursday, June 21, 2007 Bus operators seek police help to stop dousing of passengers
TWO groups of bus operators in Cebu are seeking the assistance of the Cebu Provincial Police Office (CCPO) in stopping people from throwing water at their passengers during the San Juan fiesta celebration on June 24.
They also urged all municipal mayors to pressure town policemen to conduct patrols and tell the barangay captains to assign barangay tanods to prevent an unruly San Juan festivity.
The Filipinos celebrate June 24 to honor San Juan Bautista, who, according to the Bible, baptized Jesus.
The Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators Association (CSMBOA) and the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association (CPBOA) said some buses incur damages, especially the windshields, while the passengers also get wet while traveling.
‘Mob rule’
In their last meeting, most of their 48 members expressed reluctance to operate on June 24 because of “mob rule” in the streets.
They are afraid that their units will be damaged and their passengers injured.
CSMBOA President Julie Flores appealed to the bus operators to continue with their operations, otherwise, the riding public will suffer.
Flores said that in the past years, San Juan celebrants became rude and threw ice water and splashed pails of water to buses and its passengers as symbol of “instant baptism.”
Worse, Flores said, some people have fun by throwing dirty water at passengers.
The operators are concerned of the helpless passengers, who are on their way to church, office or school. The passengers just cry because the perpetrators are drunk and there are no policeman around, they said.
CPBOA President Nicholas Villahermosa and CPBOA Vice President Gonzalo “Liloy” Librando will meet with Senior Supt. Carmelo Valmoria, the chief of the CPPO, to relay the problem to him.
“We will request all policemen in all towns to protect the bus drivers and passengers during the San Juan celebration,” Flores said.
He said that a fiesta celebration in honor of a saint is meaningless if it will result in the suffering of other people.
The rental of a mini bus is P2,500 per day and a damage windshield will cost them P4,000 to P5,000, Flores added. (EOB)
