Metro Briefs: Dec. 22, 2018

DOTr reconsiders PITX exemption for some bus operators

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is mulling the amendment of a departmental order that exempts 159 out of 1,000 bus operators from ending their trips at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).

Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade told reporters that he had instructed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and Land Transportation Office to review Department Order No. 25, which deals with PITX operations.

Under DO 25, several bus operators from Cavite, Laguna and Batangas provinces can enter Metro Manila.

Most provincial bus operators are required to end their trips at the southern terminal to avoid aggravating the traffic problem in the metropolis.

The affected operators, however, said this arrangement placed them at a disadvantage since passengers preferred buses that could take them to the metropolis. The same department order became the subject of a Senate inquiry led by Sen. Grace Poe.

She wrote to Tugade the other day to ask for an explanation about the alleged irregularities surrounding PITX operations.

While Tugade said he had yet to read Poe’s letter in full, the DOTr would “assess whether it was possible to amend or even overhaul” DO 25.

But he refused to say whether the DOTr was considering Poe’s suggestion to conduct a dry run barring all provincial buses from entering Metro Manila. —Krixia Subingsubing

3-day Manila crackdown on ordinance violators nets 327

Over a three-day period, the Manila Police District (MPD) has arrested an average of 100 people daily for reportedly violating several of the city’s ordinances.

Based on the data released by the MPD, between Dec. 17 and Dec. 20, a total of 327 people were apprehended by policemen from the city’s 11 police stations for various violations.

These included going out in public without a shirt, smoking or drinking in public and gambling in the streets.

According to the police, over a 24-hour period from Dec. 17 to Dec. 18, a total of 115 people were arrested followed by 131 over the same period from Dec. 18 to Dec. 19.

This was followed by 81 arrests from Dec. 19 to Dec. 20.

According to the latest tally sheet shared by the National Capital Region Police Office  which oversees the five Metro Manila police district headquarters, Manila only ranked third in terms of having made the most number of arrests in line with the police crackdown on loitering and other violations of local ordinances.

In first place was the Quezon City Police District followed by the Eastern Police District.

The MPD earlier said it would intensify its anticriminality operations to make the City of Manila a better place to live in. —Aie Balagtas See

South tollways toll-free for holidays

Motorists get to travel for free on Naia Expressway (Naiax), Skyway System, South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and Star Tollway on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The tollways will be free of charge from 10 p.m. on Dec. 24 up to 6 a.m. the following day and between 10 p.m. on Dec. 31 and 6 a.m. of Jan. 1.

Skyway O&M Corp., Manila Toll Expressway Systems Inc. and Star Tollway Corp., the operators, respectively, of Naiax/Skyway System, SLEx and the Star Tollway, offer this incentive to thank motorists for their patronage.

With the expected increase in traffic volume starting on Dec. 21, the public is advised to properly plan their trips, keep their vehicles in excellent running condition, stay alert when driving and strictly follow traffic rules inside the tollways.

For assistance and traffic updates, call the SMC South Tollways hotline at (02)3188655.