CITY Councilors has ruled with finality the fate of the 3-wheeled vehicle servicing short routes within this city’s coastal area by declaring it illegal and ordered its prohibition for good.
Directly affected are the 100 more or less members of the so-called San Pedro Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (SPTODA) who ply along the small roads of San Pedro and Santiago Districts.
The decision to stop SPTODA’s illegal operation was a result of deliberations following the submission of the joint committee reports from the committees on Public Utilities, transportation, communications and Franchising (CPUTCF) and the committee on Laws, Rules and Policy Formulation (CLRPF).
Councilor Arnold Gavenia chairs CPUTCF with colleagues Wilson Co and Eric Bersales as members while Arnulfo Garcia chairs CLRPF backed by Romeo Tan and Frank Jefferson Villegas as members.
The two committees, it was learned, has made joint representative public hearings last Oct. 30 at the Sangguniang Panlungsod conference room attended by Ret. Col. Azuri Hawani as Mayor Samuel Co’s representative, PNP City Traffic chief SPO4 Lasuro Bernante, punong barangays, school principals and residents of San Pedro, Santiago, Sta. Lucia, Kawit, media, SPTODA members and leaders of the various motorized tricycle operators and drivers associations in Pagadian.
After the hearing, the joint committees recommended that the matter be referred back to the City Council acting as a whole and called for further study and evaluation for appropriate disposition.
The said referral likewise endorsed the two barangay resolutions of San Pedro and Santiago supporting the operations of SPTODA including that of Sta. Lucia which prohibit the entry of trisikads in their area.
The two resolutions of San Pedro and Santiago oushed SPTODA’s legalization through an ordinance and allowing them to continue operating within the coastal area, from the City Fish Port to and from the Metro Shopping Center via Dablo Street.
Santa Lucia officials’ opposition, meanwhile, cited few reasons.
Being the busiest urban district where people from different places come and go in the pursuit of trade, business and employment and especially under the present situation where the maintenance of orderliness and in avoidance of traffic congestions, SPTODA’s presence is a big no-no, Punong Barangay Nasser Cauba said.
To recall, SPTODA members illegally operating along the coastal villages and under the noses of law enforcers have been given a two-month reprieve by the mayor to dismantle their cabs or get the nod of the city council for them to be legally recognized.
The mayor’s order was made last Aug. 3 when SPTODA flocked to the City Hall to air their side on their continued illegal operation.
SPTODA enlightened the mayor that they thrive to serve short distance commuters in the mentioned barangays for half the fare asked by motorized tricycles.
Tri-sikads collect only P5 from commuters while the current fare for motorized tricycle is P9.
The tri-sikad group has been the subject of complaints by the almost 3,000 tricycle drivers and operators plying in the city streets who claimed that the tri-sikad’s continued operation is a threat to their survival.
The Tricycle Drivers and Operators Confederation (PITDOCON) have asserted in the past that the tri-sikads do not have permits and don’t even pay taxes to the city and therefore is illegal.
This was exactly what Co told the tri-sikad group, bringing up the complaints of PITDOCON members and the mayor’s own plan to make a suitable decision on the issue.
Co then advised SPTODA to work out their legalization papers by lobbying with the city council for an ordinance that will sanction their operation before his reprieve expires.
He said that by October, in the absence of an ordinance, he will be forced to take into custody those who operate their tri-sikads in the city proper.
The mayor said that SPTODA’s vehemence has caused a headache to the city government because they drive without license, has no legal tariff, no age limit for drivers and most of all, no legal basis for their operation.
As to Gavenia, he justified the council’s decision by saying: “If I have to consider their economic rights, I have to see to it that they will follow with in the bounds of the law,” he said.
REPORT BY JONG CADION & MICHAEL MEDINA
