Sunday, April 06, 2008 Transport group invokes EO 712 v. Angeles traffic code
ANGELES CITY -- Another transport group here is now putting the Executive Order (EO) 712 to the test.
The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Draybers sa Angeles (Pasada) has vowed to oppose the proposed Angeles City Traffic Code here which they said runs contrary to the welfare of drivers and transport operators here.
The group said they would be invoking the EO 712 signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to counter the said proposal.
Executive Order 712 directs the immediate review of existing orders, rules and regulations issued by local government units (LGU) concerning public transportation, including the grant of franchises to tricycles, establishment and operation of transport terminals, authority to issue traffic citation tickets and unilateral rerouting schemes of public utility vehicles, and for other purposes.
According Rey Nacu Gueco, spokesperson of Pasada, the traffic code was not deliberated through proper consultation with all stakeholders in the traffic sector of the city.
"They (city councilors) have only consulted those who are allied with them but the majority of the operators and drivers were not consulted on this," Gueco said.
The proposed traffic code, which Gueco said was a verbatim copy of the one being used in Makati City, has provisions that are disadvantageous on the part of drivers of the city.
It has been developed to allegedly decongest the business district of the city through carving out re-routing and instituting traffic measures and schemes.
Under the said traffic code, a Traffic Development Fund (TDF) will be set up and is entitled to receive 35 percent of the total collection from traffic violators while the 65 percent will go to a Trust Fund, which is under the city accountant.
Gueco said they are opposed to this since the provision is open to abuse and proper accountability on the trust fund is not clear.
The group is not also in favor of increasing the penalties on traffic violations. In the proposed scheme, penalties on disobedience to traffic control is set at P500, entering a one-way street is P500, and out of route is P2,500.
EO 712, which was signed by President Arroyo last March 11, seeks to pacify complaints on the establishment of common transport terminals by the local government units (LGUs) in their respective areas of jurisdiction.
Other complaints include rerouting schemes in violation of authorized routes as provided for in the transport organizations' respective certificates of public convenience issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the enactment of various ordinances which result in additional cost to operators and drivers like the mandatory purchase of stickers and driver's identification cards.
Gueco said the EO is explicit on its provisions and should be implemented by the City Government.
In a recent talk between Pasada and Councilor Rudy Simeon, City Council committee chair on transportation, Simeon said mayors in Manila strictly oppose the existing EO.
Gueco, on the other hand, said the mayors opposing the EO are not entirely against it but merely questioning certain parts of the EO.
In a previous interview with Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Provincial Director Ofelio Tactac, he said LGUs must adhere to the EO.
"I think they (LGUs) would comply with the President's order. In the President's province, I don't think that it would be a problem," he said.
Drivers and operators here, on the other hand, are "restless" for the implementation of the EO.
In nearby City San Fernando, drivers and operators have been clamoring for the implementation of the EO, specifically with regards to the continued operation of the City Central Transport Terminal (CCTT).
EO 712 suspends the "establishment and operation" of terminals that charge fees from drivers and operators.
Gueco said associations through out the province should put the EO to the test. (IOF)
