Mandaue tricycle group wants to return to old routes

Members of the Mandaue Maguikay, Casuntingan, Cabancalan Tricycle Operator Driver’s Association (MCC-TODA) stage a protest rally in front of the Mandaue City Hall on Monday morning, November 23, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Mary Rose Sagarino

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Members of the Mandaue Maguikay, Casuntingan, Cabancalan Tricycle Operator Driver’s Association (MCC-TODA) staged a rally in front of the Mandaue City Hall on Monday morning, November 23, 2020, asking the city government to allow them to ply their old routes.

Poldo Pasiaw, MCC-TODA Chairman, said the tricycle drivers in the group have complained that they only pick up little passengers in the alternative routes assigned to them since last June. 

“Unta mahibalik mi sa naandan namo’ng rota. Ang mga pasahero, muari man sa merkado. Karun, lisod kaayo, wala gale mi snack snack karun. Uban driver, nagbalon nalang para makatipid,” said Pasiaw.

(We are hoping we can go back to our usual routes. Passengers go to the market. Now, it’s difficult for us, we don’t even buy snacks anymore. Some drivers just bring food from home so they can save.)

Last June 2020, tricycles were allowed to ply on the secondary and barangay roads in the city.

The city was divided into five tricycle zones.

The MCC-TODA was assigned on the Zone 1, or the Red Zone, which are the streets of Barangays Casuntingan, Cabancalan, Maguikay, Tingub, Tabok, Pagsabungan, and Canduman. They want to be able to reach the city center, where the public market is located. 

John Eddu Ibañez, executive secretary of Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes met with PISTON-Cebu on Monday and explained that they are only following the directive of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) on the prohibition of tricycles on national highways.

“Ato nang gipangitaan og alternative kay lisod nga ang kamanduan sa national government sa DILG nga ato’ng lapasan. Ang atoang LGU, mayor, and department heads mao man ang mapasakaan og kaso,” Ibañez said.

(We will look for an alternative because it is hard to go against the order of the national government to the DILG. Our LGU, mayor, and department heads will be the ones to be charged if we do so.)

/bmjo