Despite the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) memorandum circular mandating local government units to prohibit tricycles and pedicabs from main thoroughfares, Bacolod City seems to be an exemption as tricycles and pedicabs continue to roam the city with impunity and nobody in city government cares to implement the DILG directive.
DILG guidelines and circulars from the time of former DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo have been calling for the said vehicles to be removed from main roads. In addition, current DILG Secretary Eduardo Año recently noted: “For safety reasons, no tricycle or pedicab should operate on national highways utilized by four-wheel vehicles greater than four tons and where normal speeds exceeds 40 kilometers per hour.”
While the government recognizes some Filipinos make a living from operating tricycle and pedicabs, the DILG official said allowing them on main thoroughfares “poses hazards to other motor vehicles, the riding public, and even the drivers themselves.”
“The regulation of tricycles and pedicabs on national highways is, therefore, to the best of everyone,” he stated.
The question for the cabinet official: Who will apprehend the violators when local government units seldom implement the department’s circulars? Could non-compliant localities be sanctioned?
Personally, the top violators are the tricycles operating from Bangga Cory and Lopue’s East. They act like the “kings of the road” as most of them drive against the flow of traffic and, worse, the newly-constructed sidewalks will soon be deteriorated as tricycles use it as their terminal－a clear violation. I don’t know if city officials are even aware of what is happening in their own backyard.
I would like to reiterate, under the Local Government Code, mayors are authorized to regulate the operation of tricycles within their jurisdictions, subject to guidelines by the Department of Transportation.
The DILG has urged local governments to strictly adhere to their guidelines but, the question remains, when will the Bacolod City government wake up and implement the needed reforms?/WDJ