By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD CITY – Two police officers sustained minor injuries when tensions escalated during a protest against the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) in front of L’Fisher Hotel here on Wednesday.
Members of Bacolod Alliance for Commuters Operators and Drivers (Bacod)-Negros, Kabakod Negros Transport Coalition Inc. (KNETCO), and United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC) gathered outside the hotel, demanding that officials from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) hear their grievances about the modernization program.
The protesters believed that officials from these agencies, along with representatives from two other transport groups, were inside the hotel discussing the PUVMP. However, the event was actually a Philippine commercial vehicle show featuring various exhibitors.
Transport group leaders Lilian Sembrano of KNETCO, Rudy Catedral of Bacod-Negros, and other leaders from UNDOC approached the hotel entrance, expressing their opposition to the PUVMP.
In a media interview, Sembrano said they simply wanted to enter the hotel to speak with DOTr and LTFRB officials, claiming it was their right to defend the livelihood of drivers.
However, police blocked their access.
Police Lt. Col. Joery Puerto, head of the City Investigation and Detection Management Unit (CIDMU), informed the transport leaders they had 30 minutes to disperse due to the lack of a protest permit. Puerto said the demonstrators were obstructing traffic along Lacson Street.
The protesters refused to disperse and continued their rally.
“We are willing to be arrested, to be handcuffed, just to have our voices heard. We’re not here to cause trouble. Why won’t they let us in? What are they hiding?” Sembrano said.
The event organizer attempted to mediate, but the protest leaders insisted on speaking directly with the officials. Meanwhile, the Bacolod City Police Office’s (BCPO) Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) team formed a barrier in front of the hotel, preventing protesters from approaching the venue.
When demonstrators tried to break through the police line, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)-Bacolod used water hoses to disperse them, as the rally also disrupted traffic along Lacson Street.
The situation escalated when some protesters reportedly threw stones at police, injuring two officers. Authorities arrested Sembrano, Catedral, two other transport leaders, and two members of their groups.
The standoff lasted about four hours, and the protesters dispersed by noon after several rounds of negotiations.
BCPO Director Police Col. Joeresty Coronica said the injured officers were hit by stones thrown during the commotion.
“We will not take this incident lightly. The protesters must face the consequences of their actions,” he said.
Coronica added that the BCPO plans to file charges against the four transport leaders and their two members for holding an unpermitted protest in an undesignated area, resisting police orders, violating traffic laws, endangering public safety, and obstructing the city’s main thoroughfare.
“I already warned them that freedom of expression is not absolute; it has limits. Despite the time given to them to disperse peacefully, they chose to escalate the situation,” Coronica said, referencing a similar protest previously held by transport groups at the Bacolod City Government Center without a permit.
Coronica claimed the protesters had come prepared, bringing stones to the rally. “This time, we must insist that we are a government of laws, not of men,” he added.
Coronica emphasized that while the BCPO respects freedom of expression, it must be exercised at the proper place and time. He also urged the protesters to be cautious and not be misled by others’ intentions.
The city government claims that about 50% of traditional jeepneys in Bacolod have already been consolidated under the modernization program.
