Mandaue’s trike drivers get P5,000 fuel subsidy

CEBU, Philippines —  A total of 957 tricycle drivers/operators in Mandaue City will receive P5,000 each tomorrow, June 30, as fuel subsidy amidst the rising cost of fuel, said Atty. John Edu Ibañez, the chief of staff of the Office of the Mayor.

The distribution of fuel subsidy will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon for Zone 1 (white colored tricycles) which covers the routes of Alang-Alang, Cambaro, Centro, Ibabao-Estancia and Looc and for Zone 2 (blue colored tricycles) which covers the routes of Basak, Jagobiao, Labogon, Opao, Paknaan and Umapad.

From 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. will be Zone 3 (yellow colored tricycles) which covers the routes of Banilad-South, Guizo, Mantuyong, Subangdaku and Tipolo, and for Zone 4 (red colored tricycles) which covers the routes of Banilad-North, Cabancalan, Casuntingan and Maguikay.

The distribution of this cash assistance will be held at San Roque Parish gym in Barangay Subangdaku.

“Kahibaw ta sa kalisod sa panginabuhi-an sa mga tricycle drivers nato karon, una tungod sa pandemya ug karon tungod sa pagsaka sa presyo sa gasolina,” Mayor Jonas Cortes earlier said in his Facebook post.

It can be recalled that Mandaue City Council headed by Vice Mayor Glenn Bercede passed an ordinance dubbed as “An ordinance granting financial assistance amounting to P5,000 each to all legitimate operators/drivers of tricycle-for-hire plying the routes established in the tricycle route plan” principally authored by Councilor Jimmy Lumapas.

“Dako na ning tabang kanila ug sa ilahang pamilya. Bisan pa man sa kalisod sa panahon anaa ang dakbayan sa Mandaue motabang ug mosuporta nila,” Cortes added.

The ordinance stated that the City of Mandaue acknowledges the plight of the tricycle drivers who were overwhelmed with various challenges since the onset of the pandemic and now, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which are major distributors of petroleum across the globe.

In order to mitigate the ill-effects of the unprecedented oil price hike on the transportation sector of Mandaue City, the Tricycle-For-Hire Franchising Regulatory Board convened on March 9, 2022 and unanimously decided to recommend for the grant of fuel subsidy in the form of financial assistance to all legitimate tricycle drivers of Mandaue City.

“Towards this end, the City Government of Mandaue, hereby concurs with the decision of the Tricycle-For-Hire Franchising Regulatory Board to grant Financial Assistance in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos [Php 5,000.00] each to all legitimate Tricycle Drivers,” part of the Ordinance reads.

Rush Hours

In Cebu City, Councilor James Anthony Cuenco has assured that the city government is continuously looking for ways to address the current shortage of transportation, especially during rush hours.

Cuenco, who chairs the committee on transportation, said that public utility vehicle (PUV) operators pledged to help with the problem, which mostly occurs from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. as this is the time when workers go home from work.

The councilor, along with Councilor Phillip Zafra, other City Hall officials, and the operators met yesterday to discuss the matter.

“Ingon ang traditional jeepneys, sugod sa alas 5 sa hapon, mopasada. Kung padung uli from the city, puno. Pero ig roundabout, ig padung sa city, walay pasahero so ang ubang jeepneys dili na mobyahe,” said Cuenco.

“Now ang nasabutan, the PUJs will fill in the gaps sa mga rota nga busy kaayo. Ang uban reroute sila sa areas nga busy kaayo,” he said.

Last Friday, per Mayor Michael Rama’s directive, the city government provided free bus rides for those who find themselves stranded or having a difficulty getting a ride home during rush hours.

This, however, according to operators, will be a disadvantage to them as they will not have passengers to transport.

With this, Cuenco asked the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) to observe the areas of concern during the rush hour so that the buses will only cater to these areas.

“Ang immediate solution nato is to deploy all units. Daghan mag available units pero di sila mopasada kay alkanse sa krudo,” he said.

Meanwhile, the councilor is also looking into a proposal regarding service contracting to PUV drivers to at least help them during this time.

“If we will come up with a mechanism na para bisag wa kaayoy pasahero, ma-assured ang ilang income. Mao na’y gitawag og service contracting. I’m hopeful nga ma-alleviate nato ug ma-mitigate nato ang kalisod sa pagsakay,” said Cuenco.

But he said this will take time because he will still propose such move to the City Council.

Cuenco said that an estimated P20 million per month can be allocated by the city government for the service contracting, which is estimated to run for five months.

However, such plan is still subject to the approval of the City Council and Rama.

Rama, for his part, said he is yet to receive the proposal, but he will talk about the matter with Cuenco in the coming days.

“I’m not going to say yes yet because I’m going to go to the bottom of this matter. I need to see the rationale, propriety, and financial requirement about this,” said Rama. — Mary Ruth R. Malinao, GMR (FREEMAN)