GREEN AND white tricycles rattle against the uneven ground, swaying passengers left and right. Due to the convenience they offer in traversing Katipunan, tricycles remain as a main form of transportation for many Ateneans who need to get to their destinations.

However, this option for commuters, alongside the livelihood of many drivers, is now threatened by the implementation of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Regulation No. 24-022 series of 2024. Effective starting April 15, the resolution prohibits the passage of e-vehicles, tricycles, pedicabs, and kuligligs on national and circumferential roads in Metro Manila, including Katipunan Avenue.

Although similar instances in the past provided Katipunan tricycle drivers with exemptions outlined in the Quezon City Resolution No. SP-8800, S-2021, the current tricycle ban poses questions on whether or not these exceptions would still apply.

History of bans

Having faced a long history of tricycle bans, Quezon City Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association (TODA) President Alex Baay recalls the first major ban during his term in 2008. Due to the Metro Manila Council Ordinance No. 6, tricycles were only allowed to pass through Esteban Abada.

Baay stresses that at that time, they did not have any documents yet to protect themselves, leading to a rally at the City Hall for better government support. The rally resulted positively with the issuance of an authorization permitting tricycles to pass along Katipunan.

Following this incident, similar issues regarding tricycle bans resurfaced in 2012 and 2016. Both cases were shortly dismissed by the local government unit (LGU) upon TODA’s proposal of a new routing map and coordination with the MMDA respectively.

Two years later, another major ban had shaken the Ateneo community. In 2018, tricycles were suspended in Katipunan due to surprise inspections led by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. Responding to this issue, Baay remembers a City Council meeting, wherein the LGU appealed for the resumption of their operations until alternative routes were analyzed by its Technical Working Group.

This time, the battle was not fought alone by tricycle drivers, as Ateneans also gathered in support of the drivers through a Sanggunian-led petition addressed to then-Quezon City Vice Mayor Josefina “Joy” Belmonte.

With the combined efforts of all the parties involved, the LGU exempted tricycle drivers in Katipunan from the MMDA ban.

After years of embattling tricycle bans, history repeats itself again with the 2024 MMDA tricycle ban. Unlike previous instances, however, Baay asserts that they are now well-equipped with the necessary documents to continue operations.

Amid the constant overlapping policies of the Quezon City government and MMDA, Baay emphasizes that the Quezon City’s decree will still take precedence due to the Local Government Code of 1991. The Code provides LGUs with the authority to overrule policies, including the management of tricycles. He also argues that the MMDA resolution has yet to even receive the majority of the Metro Manila mayors’ signatures, which are necessary for approval.

As such, most drivers in the TODA are not worried about the tricycle ban as long as the LGU continues to support them. They recognize, however, that their lives remain heavily affected as government officials repeatedly file policies prohibiting tricycles.

At risk

One driver who will be impacted by these policies is Jaime Embon, 55, a tricycle driver who has been taking passengers around Katipunan since 1994. Living in the area since he was a teenager, he has long familiarized himself with the roads before he earned his license as a tricycle driver. Ever since then, he has dealt with the various ups and downs that come with the job.

Embon says that his age comes with difficulties such as hearing problems, which occasionally led to miscommunications with his passengers. Despite these hurdles, he carries on driving through traffic and toil. He has come to enjoy the nature of his job, in which he sets his schedule as his own ‘boss.’ Moreover, he cites it as a good source of daily income.

With the threat of the ban, however, his livelihood is put at risk. His 54-year-old wife, Elsie, shares that the ban is an especially pressing matter, as her husband has had many health issues in the past. “Marami na po siyang beses [na-operahan], kinakaya niya lang po ‘yung [pagmamaneho] para makakuha lang po kami ng panggamot,” she says.

(He’s had many operations, but he just pushes through with driving so he can earn money for his medication.)

Without the support of people close to them, Elsie says their income as a family would not be enough for his medical needs. Thus, banning tricycles in Katipunan would only make their situation more dire.

Aside from the drivers and their families, members of the Ateneo community also express concern over how the resolution may affect people’s livelihood. Sam Panlilio (1 AB COM) says that his distress over the policy extends to the drivers who may lose their source of income.

Moreover, the ban is impactful for students like him who ride tricycles to Ateneo every day. Residing in Xavierville, a few blocks away from the station, Panlilio finds tricycles as the most convenient mode of transportation.

Initially, he was shocked to hear about the ban and worried about how this ordinance would affect commuters. He sees no other means of accessible public transportation to campus, with other alternatives being hailing a motorcycle taxi or walking.

Panlilio says that though there are some issues with tricycles, such as potentially being involved in road accidents, their importance to the Ateneo community cannot be denied. “I feel like a lot of Ateneans have already made [the tricycles] part of their daily commute as their main mode of transportation,” he says.

Multisectoral collaboration

As the implementation of the tricycle ban draws near, the concerns of drivers and commuters continue to intensify. With this, both Baay and Loyola Heights TODA President Bong Bataller emphasize the importance of continuous partnership with the Quezon City government in ensuring the continued livelihood of tricycle drivers.

Baay says that he has been in communication with LGU officials, who have written to the MMDA and DILG regarding which TODAs can traverse major roads like Katipunan. He holds on to the DILG Memorandum Circular No. 2023-195, which states that “the local Sanggunian [City Council] may allow [tricycle operations] if there is no alternative route.”

Building on these communication efforts, Baay and Bataller also call on the national and LGU to include tricycle drivers themselves in conversations on development for more contextualized changes.

In the fight to stay on the road, Elsie calls upon Ateneans to take an active role similar to previous instances, given that they will be largely affected by the ban as well. “[Dati,] estudyante po ‘yung lumalaban. […] Nakikipag-meeting sila, nakikipag-negosasyon sila sa City Hall, […] pinaglalaban po nila ‘yung kapakanan ng [mga] tricycle driver,” she explains.

(Before, students were the ones fighting. […] They hold meetings and negotiations in the city hall, […] they’re fighting for the welfare of the tricycle drivers.)

Amid these threats to both tricycle drivers and student commuters, Panlilio says that solving road-related issues is “a matter of enforcing the right laws, rather than completely banning tricycles.” As such, a persistent need exists for regulations that consider the welfare of drivers and commuters alike, in order to craft solutions that address their specific concerns and needs.