A DAVAO City councilor calls for the immediate creation of the north and south bound bus terminals as solution to the continuous congestion of the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT).
Councilor Conrado Baluran, committee chairperson on transportation and communication, said the city council passed a resolution for the creation of the north and south bound terminals in 2018.
Under the ordinance, the satellite terminal's land size is a minimum of one hectare, and a maximum area of five hectares.
Baluran said the areas considered for the south bound terminal are Puan and Toril, which would cater passengers going to and returning from North and South Cotabato; and Catalunan Paqueno for Bukidnon and Cagayan de Oro passengers, while the Buhangin area for north bound, which would cater passengers from Mati in Davao Oriental, Butuan in Surigao del Norte, and other northern part of the city.
However, Baluran said the city government, currently, is looking for investors for the construction of these satellite terminals. Although he said there are some investors who want to participate in the creation of the terminals.
For the north bound, he said renowned evangelist Pastor Apollo Quiboloy is reportedly interested to invest. But he said, as of now, no formal transactions have been made. He also said another investor, which he did not mention, is also interested in investing.
As for the south bound terminal, he said there are no investors have seek interest.
"Pero atong ginaampo nga naay taker or investor nga mu-invest para sa creation of the terminal," Baluran said.
(We are hoping that there will be investors for the creation of the terminals.)
He said the city can considering having it privatised or under a public private partnership.
DCOTT head Aisa Usop said in a previous report that the current terminal, located along Candelaria Street, continues to experience congestion throughout the years.
Usop said the DCOTT terminal, with a land size of 1.7 hectares, caters to an approximate 30,000 to 35,000 passengers a day, deploying 600 to 700 buses per day.
However, during peak seasons like Holy Week, All Saint's and All Soul's Days, and Christmas, passengers could reach up to 50,000, with more than 1,000 buses deployed at DCOTT.
The terminal office admitted they are considering for the proposal of relocating the terminal to a bigger area.
However, she said it is still being put on hold, as the city government is considering the creation of the satellite terminals as a solution to decongest the terminal.
Baluran, meanwhile, said having these terminals would reduce a huge number of buses and passengers from the current bus terminal.
"Instead nga sa DCOTT sila mag sulod ning tanang 900 to 1,000 buses, didtoa nalang sila sa (satellite) terminal," the councilor said.
(These 900 to 1,000 will no longer have to load and unload passengers on the current DCOTT terminal as they would be unloaded in the satellite terminals.)
Meanwhile, he said the creation of these terminals can be done through a public private partnership. He added, it can be privatized, but DCOTT will still have a share as it will still managed by them.