• THERESA MAE DULMAN
Bacolod City officials will seek regulatory assistance after modernized jeepney operators said they are facing bank foreclosures over unpaid loans.
Eight transport corporations operating in the highly-urbanized city have received loan demand and foreclosure notices, the Bacolod Modernized Jeepney Transport Association Inc. said in a press conference Aug. 7.
Councilor Dindo Ramos said he will meet with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman, Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, to discuss remedies.
“Based on what I know, several corporations and cooperatives have not updated their loan amortizations, which resulted in bank foreclosures. (And) from what I heard, many employees have filed labor claims for illegal dismissal and received judgments in their favor. That seems to be the root of the problem facing many modernized jeepney operators,” Ramos, chairperson of the Sangguniang Panlungsod Committee on Transportation and Traffic, said.
He said that if modernized jeepneys stop operating, the city government plans to issue provisional authority to traditional jeepneys.
Ramos said this temporary measure aims to maintain public transport capacity and minimize commuter disruptions.
Meanwhile, Mayor Greg Gasataya has requested the LTFRB to streamline and optimize route unit allocations across Bacolod.
Gasataya said that while franchising authority rests strictly with the LTFRB, the local government unit remains duty-bound to step in and provide support to the transport sector.
As of press time, city officials have yet to meet with the affected PUJ operators to discuss their concerns and possible solutions. | TMD
