Cebu City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco | CDN Digital file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A public hearing for the proposed ordinance that would regulate the temporary operations of modern public utility jeepneys (MPUJs) and public utility buses (PUBs) in Cebu City during a state of calamity is slated on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2022, at the Cebu City Social Hall.
Various stakeholders, including heads of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7), Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), and PUB and MPUJ operators will meet with members of the Cebu City Council on Wednesday to discuss and shed light on the proposed ordinance of Councilor James Anthony Cuenco.
Cuenco, who, in 2021, authored the ordinance — “An Ordinance regulating the Temporary Operations of PUBs and MPUJs within the City of Cebu during the effectivity of state of calamity or until the enactment of the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) of the City of Cebu, providing penalties for violations thereof and other purposes,”– said the ordinance would address the unfair competition concerns of some Cebu City MPUJ and PUB operators.
Reason for proposed measure
“The reason for this ordinance is daghan man gud gipang-issue nga mga special permits ang LTFRB, including those outside of Cebu City, Cordova, for example, and Lapu-Lapu nga mo ply from didto sa ilang origin (from Cordova or Lapu-Lapu) and all the way to Talisay,” he said.
(The reason for this ordinance is because many special permits have been issued by the LTFRB including those outside of Cebu City, Cordova, for example, and Lapu-Lapu which will ply from their origin (from Cordova or Lapu-Lapu) and all the way to Talisay.)
“And then kaning mga jeepneys and buses nga mo ply anang lugara, they compete with cooperatives that have already established their routes diri sa Cebu City, owned by Cebu City operators,” he added.
(And then those jeepneys and buses plying from those areas, they compete with cooperatives, owned by Cebu City operators, that have already established their routes here in Cebu City.)
Cuenco heads the City Council’s Committee on Transportation and Communication.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic-induced lockdown, public utility vehicle (PUV) operators have been given special permits and QR codes that allow them to operate outside of their designated routes in order to accommodate passengers traveling to their respective hometowns during the holiday rush.
This was what Cuenco wants to address, as he said it seemed that there was not enough regulation surrounding the issue of special permits.
Travel Line Certificate
With his proposed ordinance, all PUBs and MPUJs have to secure a Travel Line Certificate from the CCTO before being allowed to ply the streets of Cebu City in times of a state of calamity, or until the enactment or implementation of the City’s Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
He said the Travel Line Certificate would indicate the route code, route description, date of validity, the registered owner/operator, register owner/operator’s address PUV plate number, PUV chassis number, PUV Engine number, and route control number.
“Mao jud na ang kinahanglan para jud ma-ensure nga ang katong mga nag invest sa mga modernized jeepneys nga steady ang ilang market. Dili sila ma-ilogan or competition,” he told CDN Digital.
(That is what is needed to ensure that those who invested in modernized jeepneys will have a steady market. Nobody will take away their market or there will be no competition for them.)
“Kay kanang gikuan sa special permit, ang gibutang lang is Point A to Point B. Wala gibutang kung asa na mga side roads nga mga agian ba, mga stops. So, pwede magpatuyang ang mga driver, bisag asa lang sila muagi basta muabot lang from Point A to Point B. Mao nay likayan nato kay mao sad nay maka cause og traffic,” he added.
(Because what is in the special permit is just from Point A to Point B. It is not placed there if there are side roads that they will pass, the stops. So, the driver can do anything they want, they can pass by any area just as long as they reach from Point A to Point B. That is what we are trying to avoid here because that is what can cause traffic.)
He said the existing MPUJs and PUBs, operated by Cebu City-based operators, which were currently plying the routes in Cebu City had secured travel line certificates.
The Cebu City Council has endorsed, last July 6, 2022, Cuenco’s ordinance for re-introduction from the archives and continuance of deliberation.
A public hearing for the ordinance was scheduled last June 16, 2021, but a year had already lapsed and there was still no report submitted about the public hearing to the Council.
The City Council’s Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Styling said there was a need to conduct the public hearing to update the proposed ordinance, especially on the present applicable routes for PUBs and MPUJs.
Penalties
If Cuenco’s proposed ordinance is passed, a fine of P2,000 and impoundment of PUBs or MPUJs, until they secure travel line certificate, may be imposed as penalty for first offense; a fine of P3,500 and impoundment for second offense, and P5,000 fine and impoundment of PUBs and MPUJs for third and succeeding violations.
Moreover, if the violator is a juridical entity, the penalty will be imposed upon the president or manager of the entity. In addition to this, the business permit of the said entity shall also be revoked after commission of third or more violations.
Background
To recall, former President Rodrigo Duterte declared a nationwide state of calamity due to COVID-19 last March 2020. The state of calamity was extended until September 2020.
Under the Inter-agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ Omnibus Guidelines on the Implementation of Community Quarantine in the Philippines, the imposition of an enhanced community quarantine in a specific area, like in Cebu City, during that time, effectively suspended all forms of public transportation.
Former Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella’s executive order (EO) No. 64 series of 2020 also provided that all land vehicles whether private or public plying in the City were temporarily suspended.
When Cebu City was placed under a much relaxed quarantine status, general community quarantine (GCQ), the late Labella issued EO 79 which allowed public transportation under GCQ, subject to the compliance of LTFRB guidelines.
The LTFRB then started issuing special permits for free, allowing MPUJs and PUBs to operate outside their usual routes, including within the jurisdiction of Cebu City to address public mass transportation needs.
The LTFRB, in September 2020, has rationalized inter and intra-Cebu City routes with 32 routes with 224 MPUJ and PUB units.
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