Mandaue cracks down on illegal trike franchises

MANDAUE City Hall will crack down on tricycle drivers and operators with fake franchises nearly a week after it ended its inventory of tricycle franchises in the city.

City Administrator  James Abadia said they already extended the verification and renewal of franchises in August and September this year.

“No more extension, we have been extending twice and that’s enough,” Abadia said.

The city ordinance only allows 2,000 tricycle units in the city but the number of units tripled in recent years.

Abadia said they started apprehending illegal franchise operators last Oct. 16, the day after the deadline.

The tricycle units once apprehended with fake franchises will be impounded at the Jadewell Parking System and Corporation Inc. area.

Abadia said the number of legitimate franchise holders who passed their documents for review number 1,000.

Last July, Mayor Jonas Cortes ordered the City Administrator’s Office to keep the number of tricycle operators at 2,000.

Abadia said they learned about the fake tricycle franchises during their implementation of the Public Transport Assistance Program in which they give a P150 fuel subsidy to tricycle drivers.

“We checked the OR (official receipts) and the drivers only gave the number of their franchise in their receipts,” Abadia said.

An employee who was implicated in the issuance of fake franchises in Mandaue City Hall has resigned. Reporter Jucell Marie P. Cuyos