CEBU, Philippines — Barely three months before the May 2022 national and local elections, some representatives in the transportation sector in Cebu officially pledged support to gubernatorial aspirant Ace Durano.
The former secretary of the Department of Tourism expressed thanks to the various representatives of the transport sector for choosing him as their “champion” and vowed to address their concerns should he win the gubernatorial race.
“Ang public transport ang usa sa mga sektor nga among gusto pundohan ni vice gov kung mahatagan mi ug higayon. Mao usa sa among plano ang magtukod ug Provincial Transport Council, aron naa gyud moy tingog. Ang importante, nga kung magmugna tag polisiya or program, kanunay ta kuyog," said Durano after transport operators from the bus, taxi, and jeepney sector in Cebu pledged to support him in a recently concluded Cebu transportation forum.
Transport leaders came from various transport organizations or cooperatives, which include the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CITRASCO), the Visayas United Drivers Transport Cooperative-MPC (VUDTRASCO), the National Confederation of Transportworkers Union-Visayas (NCTU-Visayas), Dalaguete Transport Cooperative, United Sugbo Transport Cooperative, Association of Taxi Operators - Cebu, Grab Riders Association of the Philippines, United Sugbo Transport Cooperatives, Maiswagon Transport Cooperative, Banawa Transport Cooperative, Mandaue Sabang Danao Multicab Operators, Pit-os Talamban Transport Union, Lahug Apas Transport Cooperative, Mactan Lapu-Lapu Mandaue Transport Cooperative, Compostela Transport Cooperative, and Taminasca Transport Cooperative.
A transport leader who attended the said forum but opted to stay anonymous said, “nindot ang mga pamulong ni Secretary Ace.”
Among the statements of Durano, the transport leader said, was how to improve the transportation system like “mind-setting of people in government and the sector.”
“Unsay initial na pwede mahimo para naa immediate na help para maka-sustain ang sector and ma-serve ang riding public properly as well as involving the transportation sector in policy making,” the transport leader told The Freeman.
Durano, in a press statement, said that during the pandemic, some representatives of the transport sector cried foul when they were forced to stop their units from traveling when incumbent Governor Gwendolyn Garcia required drivers and their assistants to wear expensive portable air purifiers, saying they were not consulted when the provincial government made the policy.
Representatives of the transport sector also raised the need to institutionalize service contracting to avoid the practice of drivers competing for passengers, promote the use of mass transit system and to prioritize people and not vehicles.
The former Fifth District representative shared his experience of living in Japan, which has one of the world's best mass transportation system, and of having felt no need to own the car because of the reliable mass transportation system.
Durano, a believer in mass transport and modernizing mass public transport, said as the richest province in the country with an P18 billion budget, Cebu Province can help the transport operators modernize their units.
“Gamiton ang pondo sa Capitol sa pag modernize sa mga sakyanan, pinagi ing-ana, mu improve man gyud ang serbisyo. Kanang gipahambug nga dato ang probinsya, unsaun man nato kung dili muabot sa katawhan isip serbisyo,” Durano further said. — Le Phyllis F. Antojado, KQD (FREEMAN)