ILOILO – The provincial government has received an official communication from the Department of Transportation (DOTr) indicating that the draft of the proposed Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) for Iloilo has been forwarded to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Central Office.
Mary Rose Matucan from the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) said they are now awaiting the LTFRB Central Office to schedule a session for the provincial government to present and defend the LPTRP draft.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. said he might contact LTFRB Region 6 to get updates on when the province will be called to prepare the key offices of the provincial government.
If the province successfully defends the proposed LPTRP and there are no questions about the proposed development routes or the rationalization of existing routes, the LTFRB Central Office will issue a notice of compliance.
Upon receiving the notice of compliance, it will be transmitted to Defensor’s office and then forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for the enactment of an ordinance.
Once a provincial ordinance is in place, the LPTRP will automatically take effect.
On June 18, Defensor met with DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Jesus Ferdinand Ortega to follow up on the status of the proposed LPTRP.
The province submitted the proposed LPTRP to the DOTr in May 2024. This submission marks the fourth draft of the LPTRP that the province has submitted to the DOTr.
The initial transport plan submitted to the DOTr included 67 rationalized and eight development routes. However, some changes to the number of rationalized routes are expected because some routes were merged.
During a simulation exercise conducted from February to March of this year, it was found necessary to maintain certain routes to accommodate passengers, such as the route from the Town Proper to Barangay Tiolas, San Joaquin, and vice versa. This route was initially proposed to be removed by the PPDO but was reinstated after the simulation showed a need for operational units in the area.
Other revisions included the removal of the Guimbal route, initially proposed by the PPDO to be merged with the Miag-ao route. However, the simulation indicated a need for a separate Guimbal route to avoid compromising service during peak hours.
Similarly, the Calinog to Janiuay route was reevaluated, and it was decided not to create a separate route due to the sufficient availability of Ceres buses and Calinog Bus Line services for passengers./PN