TRICYCLE DRIVERS resume their operations in Katipunan Avenue following a one-day ban that prohibited them from driving along the highway. This comes after several Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) officers conducted a surprise inspection of tricycle drivers on the morning of June 26.

During the ban, drivers were only permitted to operate on the side streets of Katipunan such as Xavierville Avenue and Esteban Abada, among others. According to one driver, they were also not allowed to cross Katipunan to enter the campuses of Ateneo and Miriam College unless they are not carrying passengers.

Matters were clarified in a meeting held at the Ateneo Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) this morning, where officers of different Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations (TODAs) along Katipunan such as Loyola Heights, Loyola-Pansol, and Old Balara Capitol Hills discussed their concerns.

Also present in the meeting were CSMO Director Marcelino Mendoza, Office of Student Services (OSS) Director Cholo Mallillin, Assistant to the Associate Dean for Student and Administrative Services (ADSAS) for Campus Events Management Chris Castillo, and Sanggunian President Hya Bendaña.

Additionally, tricycles are also not allowed to use the streets of Fabian dela Rosa and Rosa Alvero to cross Katipunan.

As of this writing, the Sanggunian has already released the petition to QC Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte to allow tricycles to pass by the said streets in crossing the highway. Marcelino has also expressed his support to the petition through a letter addressed to Belmonte released earlier today.

The new official tricycle routes are still to be announced by the MMDA.

The ban’s aftermath

Quezon City Tricycle Operators and Drivers Associations Federation (QCTODAFED) President and driver Alex Baay explained that after the lift of the ban, tricycle drivers are now only allowed to drive at the rightmost lane of Katipunan Avenue, as decided by the MMDA.

In the wake of this, drivers, commuters, and vendors alike expressed their dismay over the new policy.

Jess, a tricycle driver, lamented, “Kung gusto nila, tanggalin [nila] kami. Wala kaming kikitain; dadagdag lang kami sa mga unemployed.”

(If they want, they could just remove us from our jobs. We are not going to earn anything; we will just add to the [number of] unemployed people.)

Malou Moreles, owner of a small stall near the terminal along Rosa Alvero and wife of a tricycle driver said that their livelihood would be affected if the ban continues.

“Sana pong alisin nila ang ban na ganyan para po ‘yung mga tricycle [drivers ay] makapaghanapbuhay nang maayos. Wala pong kinikita ang mga tricycle [drivers] ngayon. Kung hindi kami makalabas ng highway [para makabiyahe], di kami makakakita,” she explained.

(I hope they remove the ban, so that the tricycle drivers can do their work properly. The drivers do not earn anything anymore. If [they] are not allowed to use the highway to give trips to passengers, we will not earn anything.)

For incoming management-honors freshman Cyan Joven, having no tricycles along Katipunan was “a hassle” because it was hard to ride jeepneys that were usually full.

Communication sophomore Ana Tan said that due to the ban, she resorted to riding a Grab car to get around Katipunan.

A psychology sophomore Maureen Tomacruz mentioned that she was aware of the ban, but was surprised she was able to get a tricycle ride to campus from Katipunan. Baay mentioned that there are still drivers who do not comply to the policy, but vows to have them suspended from their respective TODAs once caught.

Complying with national law

In an interview with The GUIDON, MMDA District Head for Katipunan Edward Surio said that the ban was a joint operation with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

It is also said to be in compliance with House Bill No. 279, whose provisions disallow the operation of tricycles on national roads and highways, including Katipunan.

Despite the passage of the bill in 2016, Surio clarified that tricycles were still allowed along Katipunan Avenue due to an agreement between the MMDA and the Quezon City (QC) local government.

This was affirmed by Baay, who explained that there has been a “devolution of power” in the Local Government Code of 1991 that honors the QC local government’s approval of tricycle operations along Katipunan Avenue.

Moreover, he recounted the tricycle inspection by the LTFRB in Katipunan on June 19, where LTFRB board member Atty. Aileen Lizada probed the “illegal” placement of tricycle terminals beside Miriam College. Operations of tricycles were halted that day, causing inconvenience for several commuters.

Baay said that he explained to Lizada that they are cleared to operate by the local government.

“Dapat ho [may] proper coordination sa [local government unit (LGU)] bago nyo kami hulihin, para ‘yung autonomy ng local [government ay] ‘di maapektuhan,” he said in the encounter.

(There should be proper coordination with the LGU before you apprehend us, so that the autonomy of the local government will not be compromised.)

In a report by ABS-CBN, Lizada asserted that though the QC local government allows it, there is still the “national law” banning tricycles from highways that should be respected. She also said that authorities should take caution in issuing permits for tricycles, for such vehicles could be unsafe in driving along highways.

Baay then clarified that they were able to communicate with the QC local government and return to their operations after the inspection.

Clearance to return

According to Baay, QCTODAFED received a letter lifting the ban on tricycle operations early this morning.

Quezon City Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) chief Elmo San Diego, PhD wrote the letter to MMDA chairman Danilo Lim, requesting to suspend the apprehension of tricycle drivers in Katipunan until the results of the study of the Technical Working Group (TWG) come out.

The TWG was formed in a meeting on June 25 among QC TODA operators, MMDA officers, representatives from Barangay Loyola Heights and the QC government, and other stakeholders, where matters on tricycle drivers using national roads were also discussed.

The letter stated that the TWG will be conducting “a thorough study in the area specially the routes of the aforementioned TODAs and look for possible alternative routes.”

In the CSMO meeting, it was also clarified that the said enforcement on tricycles is implemented all throughout QC, thus the effort of the TWG to address the issue.

Further action

Following the approval, Baay and his colleagues mentioned that authorities will only apprehend tricycle drivers who violate the Quezon City Tricycle Management Code of 2014, one of the provisions of which limits the number of passengers of each tricycle to four, including the driver.

Tricycles who drive along the streets of Fabian dela Rosa and Rosa Alvero to cross Katipunan will also be penalized. However, tricycle drivers may still use the streets for terminals, according to Moreles.

They also asked if the CSMO could support the TODAs in regulating the tricycle drivers’ uniforms, by barring drivers who do not wear the standard red polo shirt during operations from entering the Ateneo campus.

Meanwhile, Loyola-Pansol TODA officer Romulo Dumaquil apologized for not being able to service students during the tricycle ban. “Humihingi kami ng pasensya sa [mga estudyante ng] Ateneo. ‘Di kami nakapagserbisyo [sa kanila] nang 100%,” he said.

(We apologize to the students of Ateneo. We were not able to give them 100% of our service [due to the ban.])