Cuenco to return to Cebu City council soon; vows old PUJs’ return in city

Councilor James Cuenco. | file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco is expected to take his seat in the legislative body soon.

And the returning councilor vowed to help operators and drivers of traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) in the city that they can return to their means of livelihood.

Cuenco, in a phone interview with members of the media on Monday, September 14, 2020, confirmed that he received information that the Palace already signed the appointment paper that will put him back in the city council.

Cuenco will replace the seat vacated by his father, late Councilor and former Cebu City Congressman Antonio Cuenco, who passed away last June due to complications from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

“I’m just waiting for the official signed letter from Malacañang but I was told that it’s been signed, and is now being transmitted,” said Cuenco in Cebuano.

READ MORE: Former congressman Antonio Cuenco dies of COVID-19

James served as a councilor for two terms from 2013 to 2019, but he did not run as a councilor in 2019 midterm elections.

Cuenco also told reporters that his party-mates under the Barug-PDP Laban, which is currently the council’s majority, promised to appoint him as the chairperson for the committee on transport and communication, a position his father previously held.

“Addressing the COVID-19 pandemic is a primordial concern, and will be one of my priorities as soon as I am sworn into office,” he said.

“But I’d also like to address the lack of transportation in Cebu City. Particularly, I’ll be raising the possibility to reactivate the operations of our traditional jeepneys,” he added.

The councilor questioned why several old jeepneys were able to resume in areas like Metro Manila, which is under a stricter mode of community quarantine than Cebu City.

“If they are already allowed in Metro Manila, I find no reason why they aren’t allowed in Cebu City… This problem needs to be addressed right away,” said Cuenco.

The city government has been appealing before the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB – 7) to allow traditional PUJs back on the city roads.

READ MORE: Cebu City to LTFRB-7: Allow traditional jeeps to return

However, the LTFRB – 7, in response, said chances for old jeeps to return to their regular roads remained slim as of this point, saying that existing public utility vehicles (PUVs) in Cebu City are enough to address the riding public’s demand.

Cebu City was placed under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), the most relaxed form of community quarantine, since September 1.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) allowed old PUJs to resume their operations in areas under MGCQ. /bmjo