Tuesday, September 02, 2008 Council all set to break up terminal
THE City Council committee on energy, transportation, and communication is definitely considering Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's appeal for the terminal's operation to cease, or its volume lessened.
"The committee plans to craft an ordinance to amend the existing one which provides that no satellite bus terminal must exist aside from DCott," Councilor Pilar Braga, chair of the committee, said in Tuesday's phone interview.
Braga added that the mayor's plan is a "wise move" considering the present crisis, and he plans to immediately propose a resolution to amend the existing DCott ordinance. Duterte, in a meeting with the City Council members last week, asked them to facilitate the division of the terminal to various parts of the city, saying the current operation is now causing monstrous traffic in Ecoland.
Aside from the problem with space, Duterte cited the increasing fare prices as one of the major reasons for the move.
"We cannot keep the terminal operations exclusive in Ecoland. Naay mga pasahero nga gikan sa Toril or Tibungco munaug lang jud ug syudad para musakay sa Ecoland. Doble na ang bayad, sayang pa panahon (There are passengers from Toril or Tibungco who have to go to the city center just to ride the bus at Ecoland. They have to pay double and waste a lot of time). It is working against the interest of the people," Duterte said.
"Dili na feasible nga didto lng gihapon. Gubaa na ninyo kung gusto mo or kung dili, basta minimal na lang ang intercity operations (It is no longer feasible to centralize the terminal operations. You can choose to demolish it or not for as long as intercity operations within that terminal should be lessened)," he added.
The creation of makeshift terminals along Tibungco and Bajada in the north and Talomo and Toril in the South is what is being proposed by the mayor.
"Divide ninyo ang rights through public bidding. Make it an electronic one para makita sa mga tao kung kinsay interesado ug kung pila ilang offer (Plan to divide the terminal rights through public bidding. Make an electronic bidding so that all those interested will know the standing offer). Everything has to be transparent," Duterte said. (GLP)
