Friday, August 10, 2007 Bus operators seek mayor’s help to stop bombings By Grace L. Plata
IN HIS capacity as chair of the Regional Peace and Order Council, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will be going around Davao Region and neighboring provinces to personally ask local government officials to augment security measures and personnel in their bus terminals.
This came after members of the Southern Mindanao Bus Operators Association (SMBOA) pleaded with Duterte for help in a meeting Wednesday afternoon.
The bus operators lamented that their operations have suffered with the series of bomb attacks on their units.
According to SMBOA, although they do not have problems with the security in the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT), it is the terminals outside Davao City that they are concerned about.
A member of the SMBOA said security measures in most terminals are inconsistent.
"Sa una, maraming tauhan pero habang tumatagal paliit ng paliit. Minsan, apat na lang ang nakabantay (At first, there were several, but later the number went smaller and smaller. Sometimes, there were only four men keeping watch)"
A Yellow Bus Lines (YBL) official said they have suspended their operations as extortionists have continued to call them, asking for money.
"Natatakot ang management for the safety of the passengers; that’s why we choose not to have any trips," YBL-Davao manager Neill Callao said.
Duterte, for his part, assured SMBOA that he will confer with local government officials and the police force in the region to establish security guidelines in the terminals.
"I will ask them (LGUs) to adopt the security module implemented here in Davao City," Duterte said in an interview following the meeting.
The security guidelines include the posting of identification stickers on the buses set to travel for the day, not allowing the buses to pick up passengers outside the terminal and not letting passengers store unchecked baggage in the bus compartment.
Duterte assured SMBOA that he will have the feedback of the LGUs by next week.
