The Cebu City Jeepney Task Force continues to conduct inspection on the roadworthiness of a jeepney. | Delta Dyrecka Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella officially reopened all jeepney routes in the city in a newly issued Executive Order (EO) released on Thursday, May 27, 2021.
This after a three-month-long appeal of the Cebu City Jeepney Task Force (JTF ) to reopen the jeepney routes after buses have been pulling out of the city and the demand for public transportation increased.
READ: Cebu City to finally reopen all jeepney routes
In EO No. 131, Labella formally reopened all jeepney routes upon the joint recommendation of the JTF and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7).
The EO also amended the previous order establishing the Balik Pasada Program to cater only specific routes, now allowing the program to accept applicants from all routes established pre-pandemic.
“I am issuing this Executive Order 131, which is immediately effective today, so that jeepney operators can already start to apply in our Balik Pasada Program through our Jeepney Task Force headed by Councilor James Cuenco,” said the mayor.
The JTF and the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) are tasked to spearhead the Balik Pasada program and facilitate the applications of drivers, issuance of permits, issuance of Balik Pasada identification cards (IDs), evaluation of applicants, and monitoring of the jeepney operations.
For the part of the CCTO, they will be monitoring the implementation of both health protocols and traffic regulations for jeepneys already on the streets.
Paul Gotiong, the spokesperson of the CCTO, said in a phone conference that given the process of the applications of the returning jeepneys, it may take at least a month before people can notice a change on the streets.
He said that some operators of the newly opened routes have already sent their applications, undergone the seminars, and even have their units tested ahead of time.
The CCTO has already accepted these applicants even if the routes did not open yet because they anticipated that the routes would be reopened soon.
Operators who were able to undergo the process ahead can expect to get their Balik Pasada IDs sooner compared to those who have yet to undergo the application process.
Gotiong added that the CCTO will be preparing for the return of more jeepneys as this means they will be monitoring more vehicles compared to the current state of the roads.
/bmjo
READ: Cebu City eyes waiving Balik Pasada IDs as Inter-LGU jeeps return