LEGAZPI CITY -- Albay lawmakers have joined hands in strongly opposing Metro Manila Development Authority’s (MMDA) plan to ban provincial buses along Edsa (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) and transfer their stations to a terminal in Santa Rosa, Laguna.
Albay 3rd District Rep. Fernando Gonzales and Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin joined 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda in making moves to oppose the plan.
The MMDA claims that the ban, previously scheduled this April and moved to June, is among the solutions to the traffic problem in Metro Manila.
Salceda, Gonzales, and Garbin, in separate interviews, were one in asserting that one of the solutions to the Metro Manila traffic situation is for the government to adopt a public transportation system that is efficient, effective, and affordable.
The solons recommended that buses, trains and other modes of transportation be managed and operated by the government.
Garbin said: “the reason why we have millions of private vehicles plying the EDSA route is because we don’t have a public transport being managed and operated by the government.”
He said people bring their own cars because there is no public transport system that provides effective and efficient service.
Salceda said the MMDA ban on provincial buses is not an answer to the horrendous traffic situation in Metro Manila but would rather cause “great economic disruption, inconvenience, expenses and damages to multitudes of commuters to and from as far as the Visayas and the Bicol region.”
Citing transportation statistics, he said there are 2.8 million cars in the National Capital Region versus 4,000 provincial buses. Sino kaya nagpapa-traffic (who do you think is actually causing traffic)?”
There are 1,500 buses going to Metro Manila from South Luzon, with 2,500 others bound for the north. Of the south-bound buses, 236 are from Albay.
Salceda said the ban shifts the burden of inconvenience to provincial commuters, particularly students and traders and ordinary families with relatives in Metro Manila as they will now have to transfer to another mode of transportation and pay additional fare.
He branded the plan as “anti-poor and anti-probinsyano".
He pointed out that the measure is injurious to poor rural people in terms of additional inconvenience; additional "minimum" fare; additional time going to their destination; and double loading.
Albayano traders and commuters, especially those who cannot afford more expensive air transportation, are being deprived of their mobility, he said.
Gonzales said he had discussed this matter with Catanduanes Rep. Cezar Sarmiento, chairman of the House committee on transportation, which has passed a resolution asking the MMDA to defer the implementation of the order until it has conducted a hearing on this controversial issue.
Gonzales said: “Let us look for other ways to address the problem without making provincial buses and its passengers' sacrificial lambs.”
“The ban is unacceptable and it will be chaotic for Bicolano bus riders and also those from Visayas and Mindanao,” he added.
The transfer and opening of bus terminals in the outskirts of Metro Manila were attempted several times in the past but were postponed due to lack of coordination among the agencies involved.
The plan has met various oppositions, mostly from operators and commuters, and the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines, which has referred to it as a "Band-Aid" solution to a serious ailment. (PNA)
