Members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) are pursuing steps to reopen the issuance of new tricycle franchises amid the proliferation of ‘colorum’ tricycles or those operating without a franchise in the city.
“Based on the records of the CPDO, adadun ti kolorum nga tricycle kaysa dagiyay ada franchise na,” stated Councilor Marc Rainier Duguiang, who chairs the committee on transportation, during the regular session of the SP on Tuesday, November 22.
Due to the moratorium imposed by a joint memorandum circular (JMC) of the Departments of Transportation and Interior and Local Government as part of the implementation of the public utility vehicle modernization program, the city government has stopped the issuance of new tricycle franchises for a number of years.
Section 6(a) of JMC No. 001 issued in 2017 prohibits local government units (LGUs) from accepting applications or petitions for tricycle franchises pending the approval of their Local Public Transportation Route Plan (LPTRP).
Baldo Garnace Jr., planning officer IV of the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO), stated that the Land Transportation and Franchising Board (LTFRB) is currently reviewing the city’s LPTRP and approval is not anticipated until the final week of December.
Councilor Martinez Vicente, however, said the LTRFB has already clarified that the approval of the LPTRP is not necessary for the issuance of new tricycle franchises as tricycle operations are under the purview of LGUs.
Instead, as a first step towards the resumption of the issuance of new franchises, the city may opt to design a unique route plan for tricycles that will be approved by the SP.
According to Garnace, the Tricycle Route Plan is a requirement in seeking for an exemption from both the moratorium and the prohibition against tricycles using national highways.
The latter is significant because many of the city’s existing tricycle routes and the future routes recommended by tricycle operators are on national highways because there aren’t many alternatives.
Councilor Duguiang moved to tackle the crafting of a Tricycle Route Plan in a joint committee hearing with the committee on planning and development chaired by Councilor Kristian Wandag.
The motion was approved by the council.
Councilor Duguiang said they plan to hold the joint committee hearing soon.
