Mandaue jeepney ban on business district

PASSENGER jeepneys whose routes cover Manalili will be barred from entering the Central Business District in keeping with an existing city terminal ordinance, the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) said yesterday.

Citom chief Rafael Yap said the ban stemmed from complaints on the presence of passenger jeepneys near the Cebu Cathedral.

“We’ve already been implementing the ordinance in the last few weeks but we are now stepping up our operations,” he said.

Yap also clarified that their enforcement of the ordinance was not in retaliation to a truck ban imposed by the Mandaue City government on Cebu City garbage dump trucks.

Passenger jeepeneys bearing route no. 21 and 22 A, D and G will only be allowed to travel up to the North Consolidated Terminal located beside the new White Gold Department store at the North Reclamation Area.

The ordinance also bans Mandaue City passenger jeepneys bearing route number 21 and 22 B from plying routes leading to Osmeña Boulevard.

It limits the use of Cebu City roads to city registered passenger jeepneys.

Yap said Mandaue-Malili route jeepneys will load and unload passengers at the North Consolidated terminal in White Gold at the Citom accredited terminal at the NRA.

They would share the White Gold terminal with other jeepneys bound for northern cities and towns.

From the White Gold terminal, passengers could take jeepneys with route no. 01K, 10H and those bound for Labangon in going to the Cathedral area.

Violators will be issued citation tickets and temporary operators permit (TOP).

The ban will also apply to jeepneys that pass by their area, which include those from Labangon and those headed for the Reclamation Are and SM mall.

But their violations would only be limited to stopping in a no-stopping area.

Roy Opura, president of the Nagkahiusang Driver sa Sugbo (NADSU), said the terminal ordinance will affect the income of drivers and operators plying these routes and inconvenience the riding public.

For his part, Mayor Michael Rama said there was no need for Cebu City to retaliate against Mandaue City’s truck ban.

He said plans to use Mandaue City roads to transport the city’s garbage to Pulog, Consolacion town, were not finalized.

Dionisio Gualiza, head of the Department of Public Services (DPS), said they are considering three routes to be used in bringing the city’s garbage to Consolacion.

One route was to use the Talamban, Pit-os road on the way to Cabangahan and Pulog in Consolacion.

The second route would use the national highway in Mandaue City on the way to Consolacion.

The third route would cover the North Coastal Road passing Mandaue to Liloan then turning left near the Liloan church to Pulog, Consolacion.

In Mandaue City, City Administrator James Abadia said a City Council resolution to ban the entry of garbage trucks from outside the city extends to every area and not just Cebu City.

He said garbage trucks using Mandaue City roads should present documents like an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) and a permit to transport from the city government. Doris C. Bongcac and Jucell Marie P. Cuyos with Correspondents Edison delos Angeles and Norman V. Mendoza