Cebu City North District Councilor Prisca Niña Mabatid. | CDN Digital FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Prisca Niña Mabatid has expressed her support to the Jeepney Task Force’s appeal to Mayor Edgardo Labella to reopen all routes in the city.
Aside from this, she is offering the jeepney drivers assistance to get loans from cooperatives, the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP), and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), to buy a new vehicle for public utility or business use.
As the chairperson of the Cebu Cooperative Development Council, Mabatid said that they are looking to find ways to help the jeepney drivers, who were among those gravely affected by the pandemic.
“Mas maayo nga ang traditional jeepneys maka biyahe na sad igo nga maka tigum sila para palit ug modern jeepneys hangtod i abolish na ang Karaan in two years time. Tabangan sad namo mga jeepney operators kung asa sila maka utang ug bag-ong sakyanan pinaagi sa Cooperatives, Landbank and DBP.”
“Sugdan na ang training sa mga operators karung Mayo through Cebu Cooperative Development Council (CCDC) nga ako ang maong Chairman,” said Mabatid.
In a phone interview with reporters on April 30, 2021, Mabatid said that the jeepney drivers have been suffering through the pandemic.
The CCDC’s offer to help the drivers get loans is also another way to provide assistance since many jeepneys may no longer be fit to run and the Jeepney Task Force may flag them down.
If the option is to buy another vehicle, the drivers may find a new source of livelihood amid the pandemic.
Mabatid laments that while many establishments have reopened and more workers are going outside, the jeepney routes have remained status quo and many routes still remain unopened.
“Sila (jeepney drivers) ato nang nabiyaan,” she added.
The councilor said that this poses a problem not only to the jeepney drivers but commuters as well.
She hopes that more routes will reopen for jeepneys so drivers can go back to their livelihoods.
/rcg