Mayor: Buses should apply for permits

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Mayor Oscar Rodriguez dismissed allegations that he ordered the transfer of provincial buses’ operations to the central terminal to promote its use.

“That’s far from the truth,” Rodriguez said. He added that the central terminal was a privately owned establishment.

On November 1, some passengers complained about the inaccessibility of provincial buses as the city government placed them at the central terminal along Jose Abad Santos Avenue.

Some of the passengers said the city mayor only wanted to promote the central terminal. Many complained of walking long distances and the lack of connecting rides.

However, in an interview, Rodriguez said he ordered the transfer of bus operations to the central terminal because the operators did not file their for permit applications at the city government.

“People from the Oplan Habitat and the Traffic Management Unit noticed that these buses operate without a permit. They cause the traffic because they line up as much as three lanes (when they load and unload passengers),” Rodriguez said, referring specifically to the mall belt where buses have stopovers.

Rodriguez, who is also the president of the League of Cities of the Philippines, said he cannot tolerate business operations in the city without due permits. He said a licensed business means protection for the public and the city itself and prevents an anarchic situation where anyone will continue operating without due permits.

“I will never exchange the welfare of the poor over the interest of the rich. But, of course, in serving the poor, we also have to serve everyone,” Rodriguez said. (Charlene Cayabyab)