THE guy was not after all a nincompoop. For he was staring and flipping something that was strange and unfamiliar to him - something that was passed as a permit but was not really a permit; because he was told by his superiors no such permits are being issued to regular buses. This was the explanation given by Dr. Tongtong Plagata, Chair of the City Task Force on Traffic (CTFT), in defense of the traffic enforcers who flag down buses full of tourists - subject of the complaint of tour operators tackled in this column a few days ago. The traffic aides were just strictly implementing the provisions of the Perimeter Boundary Ordinance (PBO). And nowhere in the said ordinance was there a mention about giving special permits to buses.

Dr. Plagata even took time to differentiate a tourist bus from a bus with tourist passengers. According to him, a tourist bus is a vehicle which has been accredited by the Department of Tourism to have met the minimum requirements of what comfortable travel must be. It has the seal of quality from the DOT as evidenced by a sticker with the shell logo which says – Accredited Tour Bus. It has been registered specifically as a tour bus with the LTO and in its franchise with the LTFRB. This is the kind of bus that the PBO allows in the city streets. This tour bus could even park in front of a hotel and a pasalubong center as a privilege. It is even prioritized to pass and traffic aides are instructed to help clear the way.

This was not the kind of bus allegedly accosted by the traffic enforcers. That was an ordinary bus with a specific route in its franchise and is the kind that the PBO prohibits in the City. It just happened that its passengers were tourists, so the driver took it upon himself to believe that what he was driving was a tour bus. What was more aggravating was passing a piece of paper as a special permit and on the strength of something he wanted to pass as a permit, thought that traffic aides are a bunch of unthinking breed.

In the words of Mr. Mitch Antiquena, vice-chair of the CTFT, it was a ploy of the unscrupulous to get around the PBO restrictions. Both the tour and bus operators know about this provision, they just wanted to make “palusot”. Mitch actually came out strong against this ploy of using tourists as alibi to get back at traffic enforcers.

According to Dr. Plagata, this complaint of tour operators about traffic aides accosting tour buses have been tackled before and was lengthily discussed with them. Tour and bus operators have been briefed about the PBO restrictions and made to understand that they have to contract tour buses only for the use of the guests. Bus companies have been informed that they have to designate and accredit buses which they intend to service the tourists. Vans are likewise required to get a DOT tour vehicle sticker.

Most tour operators fail to prearrange the city trip with the bus company thus posing problem such as non-availability of DOT-accredited tour vehicles. They would just contract a regular bus, hang a welcome streamer at its side and tape the “special permit” in the windshield. this was not what they advised the tour and bus operators. He clearly emphasized that such scheme cannot get through the watch of the traffic aides who were instructed to look for the DOT sticker and nothing else. The welcome streamer is not a pass and there is no such thing as a special permit. No wonder the checking traffic aide kept on staring and flipping the document which did not mean anything to him.

There is no available data for the number of vehicles accredited by DOT. It was believed that bus companies have a good number of accredited tour vehicles to address the demand of the City. The question is whether or not the number is sufficient for the visitors who would come to the October national convention of the tourism officers.

Atty. Helen Camarista-Catalbas, Assistant Regional Director of DOT 6, has commented that the cost of tour in the City has become uncompetitive because tour operators have a hard time getting bigger vehicles for their scheduled packages. Looks like the local transport companies lack facilities to support the growing tourism in the city. We have hosted a significant number of national meetings since last year and tour operators found it more expensive because they have to hire many vans instead of just a few buses.

How do we make Iloilo City more tourist-friendly? This is one of the concerns that the Host Committee for the 9th ATOP National Convention has to tackle. Plan is underway to involve the other local stakeholders.

The City Task Force on Traffic (CTFT) wants to bring order to the flow of vehicles and people in the streets of the City. Given the kind of road infrastructures and the marred image of the Traffic Management and Engineering Unit (TMEU), theirs is a gargantuan job of smoothing not just the physical state but the psyche of motorists, pedestrians and businesses; and also positioning the image of the traffic aides as competent law enforcers. CTFT has set its mind and is now using a strong-arm stand on the strict implementation of the PBO.

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