ILOILO City – Provincial jeepney drivers, especially those from the so-called “first towns” or municipalities adjacent to this city, fear economic dislocation when the city government starts implementing it Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) on June 12.
LPTRP prohibits the entry of provincial jeepneys to the city. Specifically affected are jeepneys with already short routes from the nearby towns of Pavia, Santa Barbara, Leganes, Oton, and San Miguel that are currently allowed to enter the city.
The LPTRP will further limit their routes up to the transport terminals only in the city’s border barangays of Ungka and Tagbak (both in Jaro districts), Hibao-an (Mandurriao district) and Mohon (Arevalo district).
Leganes jeepney driver Jay-r Binigay, 36, sees a drop in his volume of passengers and a whooping 50 percent skid in his daily earnings.
He does not discount the possibility of quitting driving. He sees his daily earnings falling short of the daily rent he has to pay his jeepney’s operator.
“Wala na kami choice. Ma-untat na lang kami biyahe. Ano ang pang-arkila namon kon wala sang masakay nga mga pasahero? Kon piliton namon biyahe basi indi kami makasapar sang amon arkila,” said Binigay.
He appealed for compassion from the city government.
“Kon puede lang mapaiway…Pangabay namon sa syudad nga pamatian man nila kami,” said Binigay.
Fifty-five-year-old driver Henry Pangantihon, 55, also a Leganes jeepney driver, is worried that his family would go hungry. He also fears for his child who is currently in college.
“Tani mabuligan kami sang gobyerno nga makasulod kami gihapon,” he said.
With the LPTRP implementation, Pangantihon would only be driving a short distance of some five kilometers from Leganes to the transport terminal in Barangay Tagbak, Jaro – not enough to earn so he could pay his jeepney rent.
“Indi na kami makasarang sa arkila. Kaon pa namon, plus mga bata namon nga naga-eskwela. Amo pa ni tani ang akon sandigan para makatapos ang bata ko sa nursing pero amo pa ini ang matabo,” said Pangantihon.
For his part, Pavia jeepney driver Junior Glorial seemed resigned to the LPTRP implementation.
“Way ta mahimu kay amo na ila patakaran,” he said.
The LPTRP will limit his route from Pavia to the transport terminal in Barangay Ungka, Jaro only – that’s just P10 fare per passenger, an P8 drop from the current fare (P18) of a passenger if the jeepney is allowed to proceed to SM City Iloilo in Mandurriao district.
“Mapigado gid ang amon pamasada imbes nga makaganar,” said Ernesto Esperon, another Pavia jeepney driver (Pavia – La Paz route).
Niel Ledesma, driver of a Cabatuan jeepney, urged the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board which approved the LPTRP to reconsider its decision.
“Halin pa kita sa pandemic tapos amo pa ini matabo sa amon nga mga drivers,” said Ledesma./PN
