COMMUTERS struggled to get a ride to their destinations on Monday, May 18, due to the lack of public transportation.
Following the implementation of the general community quarantine (GCQ), more businesses have been allowed to resume operations and operate with additional workforce. This resulted in people flocking the streets of Davao City. However, there were barely any public utility vehicles that could cater to the number of commuters hoping to get a ride to work.
Nneka Rubia, a government employee, was one of those who woke up early to get a ride going to work.
Rubia was supposed to reach her office by 8 a.m. However, she struggled to get a ride as there was no public utility jeepney (PUJ) plying the Catitipan area. It was also difficult for her to get a taxi as they were all occupied. That was when she decided to walk to work.
“While I was walking to work, I saw a huge line of people waiting for jeepneys to transport them to their work. Also, at that time, the traffic was very heavy, with only private vehicles on the road. No taxis, no PUJs,” she told SunStar Davao in a phone interview.
It took her 40 minutes before she was able to reach her destination, but she was already very late for her work.
“Had I not decided to walk... I wouldn’t have been able to reach work,” she said.
Rubia said the traffic scenario is highly anticipated since most offices and establishments were now allowed to operate, but she said the city’s mass transportation was “not ready” during that day.
Unlike Rubia, who was able to go to work, some Dabawenyos, through social media, said they decided to go back home after not being able to get a ride to work.
Davao City is one of the areas in the country that was placed under GCQ, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
This had allowed mass transportation to operate provided the operators and the drivers must implement physical distancing among their passengers.
However, in a circular memorandum issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on May 15, PUJ drivers are mandated to get a special permit before they will be allowed to operate.
According to the circular, the permit takes effect from May 16 to 31, the duration of the GCQ in the city.
LTFRB-Davao Region Director Armand Dioso told SunStar Davao in a radio interview that majority of the PUJ operators have not been able to get their special permits, resulting in the shortage of PUJs plying the streets.
“Ang problema man gud sa uban kay wala sila naka-install og barrier, cubicle para sa ilang sakyanan. Wala sila kakuha og special permit tungod wala pa sila ka-comply sa social distancing protocol (The problem is that most PUJ operators have yet to install barriers or cubicles within their units, which is a requirement to the social distancing protocol before we could issue a special permit to them),” Dioso said, emphasizing that failure to comply with this, jeepney operators will not be allowed to operate.
He added some drivers were only able to get their materials to be used for barriers just on Monday, it is only during the GCQ that hardware stores are allowed to reopen.
However, Dioso said drivers were already told to prepare the implementation of social distancing protocols while the city was still under ECQ, especially those drivers who were able to avail of the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad) program of the Department of Labor and Employment.
“Natingala mi nga gamay lang ang naka-ready nga dugay naman na sila napahimangnuan (We were surprised that only a few were able to prepare despite our early announcement),” he said.
He added that some drivers were not immediately given permits as they have yet to comply with other requirements such as vehicular insurance.
Along with the permit’s provision, Dioso said PUJ drivers would be allowed to charge a P9 minimum fare.
Meanwhile, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said in a radio interview on Monday afternoon, that LTFRB should have issued the special permits earlier during the implementation of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).
“Nag-inspect na mo (dapat) during ECQ. Ang mga wala nag-comply, inyuha na gipa-comply, gitagaan na niyo og special permit. Dili ng karon nga kinahanglan nato ang jeep, karon mo mag-issue og special permit (You should have inspected all PUJs during the ECQ. You should have compelled those who failed to comply so that they would be given special permits. Why only do it now, when jeepneys, at this point, are needed),” the mayor said in a radio interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She added that LTFRB should have, instead, deployed its personnel to monitor the PUJ operators’ compliance on their operation.
“Kung inyoha na lang na gipagawas ang mga tao (LTFRB personnel), gibutang ninyo sa dalan, everytime nga dunay jeep nga naga violate sa requirements ninyo, tanggalon ninyo sa dalan, mas paspas na siya. Kontra sa paadtuon ninyo tanan dinha sa inyuha (You could’ve deployed your personnel so that every time there is a non-compliant jeepney, they would be immediately apprehended and prohibited from operating. This is way more convenient than mandating them to get a permit from your office),” the mayor said.
Duterte-Carpio SSWS that LTFRB should “rethink” its policy, considering that there is a demand for PUJs at this period.
SunStar Davao reached out to Dioso regarding the mayor’s recent comment, but he has not yet responded as of press time.