ILOILO City – The city government’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO) vowed to step up its campaign against tricycles and pedicabs operating on national highways.
As part of the road clearing operations being led by the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Secretary Eduardo Año ordered local chief executives to strictly implement the ban on tricycles and pedicabs on national highways and to create a tricycle task force that shall draw up a tricycle route plan in their areas.
According to Conlu, since January the PSTMO already apprehended 766 tricycles and mostly on the Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue (Diversion Road).
But running after the tricycles and pedicab is “a challenge”, said Conlu.
Some tricycles were holders of franchises from the city government and these covered routes that were previously classified as local roads but were, in recent years, converted into national roads.
Also, he said, “May mga areas nga ang naga-serve lang gid tricycles. So indi mo man pwde kwaon sila. Sin-o ma-serve sang mga passengers dira?”
But according to Año, “Matagal na nating ipinagbabawal ang mga tricycles at pedicabs sa national highway ngunit ang daming pasaway. Hindi lang ito nakakasagabal sa daan kundi nagiging sanhi ng sakuna sa kalye. Kaya dapat nang maging mahigpit ang mga mayors at ang pulis at siguruhing maipapatupad ang ban na ito.”
Año said tricycles are also not allowed to even cross or make a U-turn on national highways.
“Local governments must review and modify tricycle routes according to the ban and are encouraged to include in their plans the construction of local roads or overpasses where the tricycles can operate,” he said.
Conlu, however, said “very complex ang sitwasyon. Nabudlayan kami kay it is not just about tricycles, it is also about the passengers.”
He is open to the possibility of allowing tricycles on highways “basta ara lang sila right lane, sa pinakakilid nga lane, kon wala na gid sang other modes of transportation nga naga-serve.”
There are more or less 1,300 “renewed” tricycle operators in this city, said Conlu.
But he said the actual number could be around 5,000 tricycle units, which means almost half are operating as colorum (franchise-less).
As per 2016 data, Conlu said, Iloilo City has 27 national roads, 151 local streets or city roads, and 107.976 road networks.
Through DILG Memorandum Circular (MC) 2020-036, the DILG Secretary also said that each city and municipality should create a tricycle task force separate from the tricycle regulatory boards to formulate or review its tricycle route plan.
The task force will be composed of the mayor as chairman, the chief of police as vice-chairman, and the Sanggunian’s committee chair on transportation or public safety, the president of the Liga ng mga Barangay, the head of the tricycle regulatory board, the head of the Department of Public Order and Safety, the planning and development officer, the head of the traffic management office, and the local government operations officer as members.
Representatives of the transportation department and its attached agencies will function as resource persons of the task force, while the head of the city or municipal legal office shall provide secretariat support to it.
According to Año, the task force is tasked to meet with stakeholders and rationalize all tricycle routes to enforce the ban, identify national roads within the jurisdiction of the LGU, and determine the present and proposed routes in view of drafting a tricycle route plan (TRP) within 30 days from the issuance of the memorandum.
The plan should include a schematic map of the location of tricycle terminals, the national highways of the LGU and the portions thereof to be used by tricycles if there is no alternative route.
The plan must also detail the installation of appropriate signages, marks for lanes and other safety features to guide all vehicles; create awareness among residents and motorists of new tricycle routes or portions of highways allowed to tricycles because of lack of alternative route; a color scheme or emblem for tricycles that ply a route traversing a national highway; and penalties for violators.
Task forces of adjacent LGUs must coordinate and come up with a combined TRP. Each TRP is valid from two years after the issuance of the memorandum.
The MC also orders the Philippine National Police to help local leaders enforce the ban./PN
