Jerry Bacaltos, 27. died on the sport when an unmanned tartanilla (horse-driven cart) collided with a public utility jeep (PUJ) he was riding, as the jeepney was traversing along C. Padilla Street, Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City in the evening of Jan. 1, 2019./CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) will investigate the collision on Tuesday night between a tartanilla and a public utility jeep (PUJ) along C. Padilla Street in Barangay Mambaling that took the life of a PUJ passenger and injured another.
Francisco Ouano, CCTO head, told Cebu Daily News on Wednesday, January 2, that they will investigate if the tartanilla (horse-drawn cart) went out of of its allowed route.
Tartanillas that operate in Cebu City, which numbered about a hundred, are only allowed along Leon Kilat Street, and on the streets of Barangays Pasil, Tabo-an, and Duljo Fatima.
“Di man gyud nato mapugngan nga ang kabayo mag wild apan ato na sila gi-regulate aron if ever mahitabo na, gamay ra ang maangol,” said Ouano in a phone interview.
(We cannot control the horses when they occasionally go wild. That’s why we regulate the routes so we can minimize casualties when these happen.)
Ouano said that if the tartanilla driver went outside the designated route, his cart may be impounded and charges may be filed against him.
“If he went outside the designated route, he will have to take the responsibility for the death (of the PUJ passenger),” said Ouano.
He said he will also coordinate with the Cebu Veterinary Office to decide what additional measures needed to look into the road worthiness and health of the horses and regulate the use of horse-driven carts.
At around 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday, the horse of a tartanilla driven by Celocia Esteban, 42, went berserk, which forced Esteban and his passengers to jump out of the cart.
The unmanned runaway tartanilla was thundering along C. Padilla Street in Barangay Mambaling when it collided with the PUJ driven by Christopher Aleson, killing on the spot passenger Jerry Bacalso, 27./elb