Commuters, van-for-hire drivers gripe about closure of Citilink terminal
ON THE LOSING END
With the closure of the old Citilink terminal, south-bound commuters and van-for-hire drivers complain about what replace it.
The temporary depot near the old Compania Maritima is an unfamiliar location, making it harder to find.
Commuters Teresa Panoncial and Lenie Natan used to take the jeepney going to the old Citilink terminal in Natalio Bacalso Avenue in order to board the van headed to Toledo City in midwest Cebu.
Now they spend P60 for a taxi instead of P7 for jeepney fare from Gaisano Capital to the Compania Maritima building near the South Road Properties (SRP) located several kilometers away from N. Bacalso Avenue.
READ: City Hall team shuts down Citilink terminal
“It’s expensive and not accessible in the highway and other areas like malls and stores,” Panoncial said.
Natan said other taxi drivers were not familiar with the area and would take time looking for it.
Tuesday’s closure of the Citilink terminal was ordered by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama after the terminal management failed to pay over P12 million in taxes since May this year.
About 200 van-for-hire drivers were transferred to the Compania Maritima building grounds.
But the site is only temporary.
City Hall is still looking for an alternative terminal site.
Edmund Tan, general manager of the Cebu Port Authority (CPA) was concerned about the arrangement.
He spoke with Cebu City Administrator Lucelle Mercado and was assured: “She will write me informing us the use of the premises is only temporary.”
The CPA has a pending court case to assert its claim of ownership of the Compania Maritima grounds. The civil case was filed by the national government against the Cebu City mayor.
In the meantime, v-hire drivers want the temporary terminal to operate 24 hours, not just the 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. limit set by City Hall.
The transfer has affected v-hire drivers like 50-year-old Alan Villanueva, who used to earn P400 a day when he and several other drivers were stationed at the Citilink Terminal.
Now Villanueva takes home only P150 a day.
He presently pays P350 to the operator compared to the P1,050 he used to pay before in van rental.
24 hours
“Our main source of income is really affected. I hope Mayor Rama will allow us to get back there (Citilink terminal). We had more passengers before compared today,” Villanueva said.
Felix Pertacorta Jr., president of the Toledo V-Hire Transport Service Cooperative, said they still get passengers past 9 p.m.
“We want to operate here 24 hours a day because there are also passengers for 24 hours,” he said.
Villanueva’s regular route covers Cebu City to Lutopan, Toledo City. He charges P70 each passenger.
Most of his passengers are students from the Cebu Institute of Technology-University (CIT-U) and some along the highway.
Villanueva said their vans are usually loaded at Citilink terminal in the morning. But he only had three passengers from the morning until 5 p.m. yesterday.
“Some of our passengers are now taking the bus because we pass at South Road Properties (SRP). We can’t drop them off either at CTS or CIT-U,” Villanueva said.
Vendors who used to do business at the Citilink terminal were also affected by the closure.
Loreta Galariana, 59, said she walks more than two kilometers a day from Citilink Terminal to Compania Maritima to save on jeepney fare.
Galariana had been selling puto maja and salad for five years at her stall in the old terminal and used to earn P1,000 a day. Now she stands the whole day at her new spot and earns only P200 daily.
CPA Deputy Manager Yusop Uckung said the board will decide whether to allow the area to be used as a temporary terminal in the first place.
“In the meantime, the Office of the Secretary General (OSG) lawyers in Manila are preparing the appropriate motion to be filed in court,” Uckung said.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-7) inspected all 70 V-hire units last Monday. LTFRB Regionalddirector Reynaldo Elnar said all units are registered and accounted for.
“In terms of traffic, then it is convenient for them because they can also temporarily take the roads along South Road Properties (SRP),” he said.
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