A pre-registration for jeepney drivers is conducted at the Plaza Sugbo in Cebu City on October 30, 2020, for the drivers who want their jeepneys back on the streets. CDN Digital | Delta Dyrecka Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The pre-registration of jeepney drivers has begun in Cebu City following the launch of the Balik Pasada Program of the city’s Jeepney Task Force (JTF)
The JTF began the pre-registration of applicants for the jeepneys that will be allowed to return to the streets in selected routes.
Read: Cebu City considers return of 1.3K jeepneys
Councilor James Cuenco, chairperson of the JTF, said that the registration would systemize and identify which drivers and units that would be allowed to ply the routes.
The jeepneys will be returned in phases and so only a certain number of units will be allowed for the first phase.
From those, who pre-registered, these drivers will be carefully selected if they will be allowed to ply the streets depending on their health status, their vehicles’ status, and their routes.
Read: Labella: City will help 3.5K jeepney drivers find jobs
Cuenco said in a phone interview that the drivers would be subjected to a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) test at the Cebu City Quarantine Center (CCQC) in a given testing schedule.
“We will still determine who among the drivers and which among the vehicles will be able to return. For the routes, we will focus on barangays with more workers such as Barangay Guadalupe,” said Cuenco.
The drivers, who would like to register for the Balik Pasada Program, can go to the Plaza Sugbo and bring their original professional driver’s license and two 2×2 pictures with white background. They will also be asked of their transport cooperative or transport group affiliation.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr), for their jeepney modernization program, required drivers to be part of a cooperative that would help them get loans for the modernization project.
The city government did not say the drivers would be required to be part of the cooperative but they would be asking out for this information.
A one-stop-shop will also be established at the CCQC for the testing of the drivers and their jeepney units. In this way, the process will be faster.
Cuenco said he hoped that this pre-registration and systematic identification of returning jeepneys would hasten the return of the jeepneys on the streets./dbs