BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance requiring passengers to form a queue to maintain orderliness in designated taxi and jeepney loading zones while waiting for their rides
The ordinance authored by Councilor Elmer Datuin stated all passengers are required to form a queue while waiting for their rides whether in designated taxi loading zones or in jeepney stations in the different parts of the city.
For taxi passengers, the prohibited acts include hauling or riding taxi cabs anywhere within the central business district other than the designated taxi loading zones; using taxi boys as defined under Resolution No. 233 to flag a taxi for a person or persons; riding the taxi immediately even if it is not yet his or her turn to ride and going to the first row of the queue disregarding the existing queue while for jeepney passengers, the prohibited acts are riding the jeepney immediately even if there is an existing queue and going to the first row of the queue disregarding the existing queue.
Under the provisions of the ordinance, those exempted from the coverage of the measure are senior citizens, pregnant women, persons with toddlers and disabled persons.
For drivers and operators loading passengers in a non-designated area shall be fined P500 for the first offense, P1,500 for the second offense, P3,000 for the third offense, P5,000 and suspension of driver’s license for six months for the fourth offense and the revocation of the driver’s license and the suspension of the operator’s franchise for one year for the fifth offense.
For passengers, violations of the provisions of the ordinance would require the passengers to undergo a seminar on traffic rules and regulations for the first offense, a fine of P1,000 for the second offense and a 3,000 for the third offense.
The ordinance tasked the Baguio City Police Office Traffic Management Branch (BCPO-TMB) to oversee the strict implementation of the pertinent provisions of the local legislative measure.
Datuin underscored the local government is committed to safeguard the well-being and safety of its constituency and is empowered, through its local legislative body, to enact ordinances regulating traffic on all streets within its jurisdiction, including the adoption of programs and projects concerning road management and use pursuant to the provisions of the Local Government Code of the Philippines.
Ordinance No. 43, series of 1988 entitled “An Ordinance Designating Taxi Stands within the Central Business District” as amended by Ordinance No. 076, series of 1994 declared certain areas within the central business district as taxi stands for passengers to await the services of taxi cabs.
Despite the existence of the ordinances, he claimed some people just tend to stop taxi cabs anywhere and the said taxi cabs would just pick passengers anywhere without regard to the designated zoning zones.
In jeepney terminals, passengers are being made to form a queue by the jeepney association, but there are still erring individuals who do not want to follow the queue.
By Dexter A. See