The adoption of new schemes involving staging areas of public utility vehicle trunklines servicing Benguet towns is part of the traffic decongestion strategies being implemented in the city and not a way to get back at the province for disapproving a city project.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong said there are reports that the city purposely moved the terminals of some Tuba trunklines to another place to get even for the rejection of the city’s piggery contract farming project.
“The city will never resort to such feeble acts just because of a small debacle.”
“It is unfortunate that the community did not accept the project and they were supported by their mayor so we can’t do anything but to accept their decision,” the mayor said.
Magalong said the city will pursue the project in another province like Pangasinan or will divert to another venture like button mushroom production, which he said is a promising industry considering that the whole country only produces 15 percent of the total requirement.
The mayor said contrary to the notion, the city is bent on helping Tuba and other municipalities in the LISTT (La Trinidad-Itogon-Sablan-Tuba-Tublay) in attracting investments to rev up their economy possibly through the creation of economic zones for which initial negotiations were made with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and information technology companies.
The adjustments involving PUJ terminals including the Tuba trunklines are part of the ongoing revisions and experimentations being adopted by the Land Traffic and Transportation Management Committee through the Baguio Traffic and Transportation Technical Working Group to untangle traffic bottlenecks around the city.
On recommendation of the committee, the mayor issued on Feb. 13 Executive Order 39 enjoining all operators of the PUJ trunklines to and from La Trinidad and other Benguet municipalities using the La Trinidad terminal at the Rabbit Sinkhole along Magsaysay Avenue and Dangwa terminal to comply with the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Department of Transportation and Communication Joint Memorandum Circular 1 s. 2008, which provides guidelines in the establishment and operation of public transport terminal and the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board locational guidelines and standards for terminals and garages.
The orders provide that PUJ terminals may be located within commercial zones but should not be near a major intersection, must be accessible to commuters but access to major thoroughfares should be discouraged, and should be more than 100 meters away from institutional establishments like schools and hospitals.
Pending compliance with the guidelines, the operators were ordered to limit units for each route to a maximum of two units at a time. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
July 27, 2024
