Commuters can now heave a sigh of relief after Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella signed an EO allowing the return of public utility jeepneys. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella assured the Police Regional Office in Central Visayas (PRO-7) that the return of the jeepneys will be under strict monitoring and subsequent evaluation.
This was the mayor’s response to the apprehensions of Police Brigadier General Albert Ignatius Ferro, the director of the PRO-7, who recently said that allowing the jeepneys to return would be risky to the still-recovering city.
Read: Ferro: Return of jeepneys needs thorough study
“We take note of the general’s concern but I assure everyone that the jeepneys will be screened and monitored properly. There will be evaluations,” said the mayor in a phone interview on November 4, 2020.
The Cebu City Jeepney Task Force will be monitoring the operations of all jeepneys that may begin plying the streets by the second or the third week of November.
Labella said that if the jeepney operators fail to follow the health protocols, the city government can immediately suspend all operations again.
This is why the task force has been pre-screening the jeepney drivers, units, and operators to ensure that they will operate safely under the health protocols.
The mayor said the city government is also open to suggestions from the police.
Meanwhile, after 1,000 drivers have been pre-registered under the Balik Pasada Program, the Cebu City Jeepney Task Force will be opening the pre-registration for jeepney units and their operators on November 5, 2020.
The pre-registration of operators will be conducted at the Cebu City Hall grounds, but they can also opt to send their application through electronic mail at cebucityjeepneytaskforce@gmail.com.
Operators must bring an original and a photocopy of each of their Certificate of Registration, Official Receipt of Registration, Personal Passenger Accident Insurance, and Certificate of Public Convenience for the on-site registration.
For those who would be submitting online, they must send scanned copies of these documents and provide their contact information and the transport cooperative they belong to.
The operators must follow the schedule for their preregistration based on their routes. Here is the schedule for each route:
November 5-6 — Guadalupe Routes
November 9-10 — Lahug Routes
November 11-12 — Labangon Routes
November 13-16 — Basak. Pardo, and Bulacao Routes
November 17-18 — Mambaling and Inayawan Routes
November 19-20 — Talamban and Pit-os Routes