Iloilo City halts transport route plan OKd by DOTr

Mayor threatens to suspend ‘forever’ system for modern jeepneys due to inconvenience it brings to commuters

ILOILO CITY—The mayor of this city has warned the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that he would continue to suspend the implementation of the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) if it continues to be silent on the city government’s proposed revisions to the plan.

“They (the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board or LTFRB) will not approve [the revision to LPTRP] forever? I will suspend [the implementation] forever. It’s a stalemate,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas last week.

According to the mayor, the DOTr and its attached agency, the LTFRB, have yet to respond to the city’s communication sent last September that sought to revise the route plan due to objections from residents.

Iloilo City was the first highly urbanized city in the country to launch the LPTRP, which is part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program of the national government.

The city’s LPTRP was approved by the DOTr in November last year and was adopted by the Iloilo City Council in January 2022.

However, the new route plan that was implemented last June 12 was met with public criticism, as thousands of passengers from the city and towns in Iloilo province were left scrambling to get public transportation during rush hours.

The LPTRP allowed only modern jeeps to ply the city’s routes. But without the phased-out public utility jeeps (PUJs), the modern PUJs were unable to cater to the volume of passengers that commuted every day in the city.

Fourth suspension

The mayor said the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires observance to health and safety protocols, as well as the increasing prices of commodities, the inflation experienced by both national and local economies, and public clamor were among the reasons why appropriate adjustments should be made to the current implementation of the new routes.

“It wasn’t something that was initiated by the local government. We are just implementing [the national government’s programs]. We are trying our best to make [the LPTRP] palatable to the people, but we cannot allow something being swallowed already to be rammed down our throats. I won’t allow that,” Treñas said.

He said officials of the city government are set to go to Manila soon to meet with LTFRB officer in charge Riza Marie Paches.

LTFRB-Western Visayas’ LPTRP spokesperson Joshua Gaquit has not responded to requests for comment regarding the matter.

Last Nov. 3, Treñas issued Executive Order No. 94 extending the suspension of the LPTRP implementation for the fourth time until Dec. 31, 2022.

The executive order stated that the suspension may be lifted should the DOTr and the LTFRB approve the proposed revisions to the LPTRP.

“We will continue to consult [with multiple sectors]. Because we have tested [the plan], there have been many recommendations to revise and amend the routes. We will incorporate those which can be incorporated,” Treñas said in an earlier interview.