By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Iloilo City commuters could soon find themselves on longer jeepney routes, as the “enhanced” Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) added newer stops based on public input in last year’s series of consultations.
The amended LPTRP has 25 routes, which include 21 revised routes under the original LPTRP, 3 unchanged routes, and 1 new route.
Routes with indicated changes in names and structures include the following:
– Bo. Obrero Lapuz to City Proper (from “Bo. Obrero to Iloilo City Proper”), now passing through Jalandoni Memorial National High School and Drilon Bridge (instead of Quirino Bridge) and Muelle Loney Street;
– Villa Plaza to City Proper via Calumpang (from “Calaparan-Calumpang to Iloilo City Proper”), now starting from Yulo Street near Arevalo Plaza, passing through Osmeña and Arroyo Streets before the Baluarte-Calumpang-Villa-Oton Road, and at the Tanza Parish Church at Rizal Street along Tanza instead of Maria Clara;
– Ungka to City Proper via Aquino Avenue/Festive Walk (from “Ungka to Iloilo City Proper via Diversion/Festive Walk Transport Hub”), now passing by Rizal, Ledesma, Mabini, De Leon, Valeria, and Delgado Streets, instead of u-turning along Infante Street;
– Festive Walk to City Proper via Aquino Avenue (from “Festive Walk Transport Hub to Iloilo City Proper via Diversion/SM City”), now turning at Jalandoni Street instead of Mabini Street, and u-turning near Zuri Hotel to pass by SM City Iloilo and Atria before returning to Festive Walk;
– Lanit to Infante via SM City (from “Lanit to SM City via NIA/Jalandoni”), now starting at the boundary with Leganes town instead of the Tiu-Cho-Teg Ana Ros Foundation Integrated School, and returning via Locsin and Rizal Streets instead of u-turning along Infante Street;
– Compania to City Proper (from “Compania to Iloilo City Proper”), now including Locsin Street in Molo before the Timawa area, as well as JM Basa, Ortiz, Mabini, De Leon and Fuentes Streets before returning via Delgado Street;
– Parola to SM City via Infante (from “Parola to Infante via Super”), now terminating at SM City Iloilo, and passing by De Leon Street before Jalandoni Street, with stops at Gaisano Iloilo City Center, SM Strata, and u-turning near Zuri Hotel;
– Mohon to City Proper (from “Mohon to Infante”), now passing by General Luna Street and turning around via Iznart, JM Basa, and Ortiz Streets instead of Infante Street alone;
– Buntatala/Tagbak to City Proper (from “Tagbak to Iloilo City Proper”), now starting and terminating at Spousal of Mary and Joseph Parish Church;
– Ticud La Paz to City Proper (from “La Paz to Iloilo City Proper via ISATU”), now starting and terminating at Ticud terminal instead of Baldoza terminal, both in La Paz district;
– Mandurriao to City Proper via Festive Walk/Aquino Avenue (from “Mandurriao to Molo via Festive Walk Transport Hub/Diversion”), now passing by De Leon, Mejorada, Guzman, Jesena, Benedicto, and Libertad Streets, as well as PHHC Road, before turning to Q.Abeto Street, and vice versa;
– Hibao-an to City Proper via Tabucan (from “Hibao-an to Iloilo City Proper via Tabucan/Festive Walk Transport Hub”), going straight via Tabucan and removing the Festive Walk Transport Hub and Pison Rotonda stops;
– Hibao-an to Jaro via Festive/Aquino Avenue (from “Hibao-an to Jaro via Abeto/Western/Festive Walk Transport Hub”), now adding stops at SM City Iloilo, Pison Rotonda, and turning at Jalandoni Street, instead of El 98 Street, before going to Jaro Plaza, and returning via El 98;
– Molo to City Proper via Baluarte (from “Molo to Iloilo City Proper via Baluarte”), now adding additional stops at Jalandoni, De Leon, and Fuentes Streets before turning at Ledesma Street for the return trip;
– Villa Baybay to City Proper (from “Villa-Baybay to Iloilo City Proper via Bonifacio”), with same structure;
– Buntatala/Tagbak to City Proper via Lapuz (from “Tagbak to Lapuz via Coastal), now starting at Spousal of Mary and Joseph Parish Church, and turning around at Mapa, Rizal, and Iznart Streets, instead of turning around at Lapuz-Mansaya-Loboc Road;
– Bito-on to City Proper via La Paz (from “Bito-on to La Paz via Coastal”), now extended via Huervana Extension, Burgos, Magdalo, and Luna Streets, passing by Bonifacio Drive to Gen. Luna and Mabini Streets, and returning via Valeria Street;
– Mohon to ISATU via Sooc/Festive Walk (from “Villa to Jaro via Sooc/Oñate/Festive Walk Transport Hub”), now starting at Mohon Terminal instead of Arevalo Plaza;
– Buntatala / Tagbak to Festive Walk via SM City/Atria (from “Tagbak to Festive Walk via SM City/Atria”), now starting at Spousal of Mary and Joseph Parish Church, and extending to Aquino Avenue, turning around at Infante Street, with u-turn near Zuri Hotel, and passing by Atria before returning via El 98 Street;
– Mohon to Mandurriao Business District (same name), with added stops at Molo Plaza, GT Mall, Iloilo City National High School, and Iloilo City Community College, before turning to San Pedro Street and proceeding to R. Mapa Street on the way to Megaworld Boulevard; and
– La Paz to Festive Walk via Nabitasan (from “La Paz to Festive Walk Transport Hub via Nabitasan”), now u-turning near Zuri Hotel with additional stops at SM City, and passing by Pison Road before heading to Megaworld Boulevard via R. Mapa Street.
Unchanged routes include the Ungka to Iloilo City Proper via CPU and E. Lopez Street, Bito-on to Jaro (Jaro Plaza) via Balabago, and Ungka to Iloilo City Proper via CPU and Commission Civil Street.
The new route indicated was the Molo to Iloilo City Proper via Gen. Luna Street route, which was a revived route prior to the original LPTRP, with 15 units authorized to ply the route.
The newer LPTRP was endorsed by Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-Region 6 (LTFRB-6) Director Richard Osmeña to Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas in a March 20 letter, received by the mayor’s office on Tuesday, March 21.
LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III had already approved the city’s LPTRP amendments in a February 14 letter.
BACKGROUND
City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) chief Jose Roni Peñalosa cited the indefinite suspension of the LPTRP’s implementation last year, which allowed them to make further public consultations on the matter, and in turn that provided the data they used to improve the plan.
The public consultations were conducted in various venues across the city, including malls, universities and colleges, barangay gyms, and other key places to ensure many of the commuting public would be reached.
Peñalosa said it was in these public consultations that they learned that there was greater public demand in some areas that were not reached by routes under the original approved LPTRP.
“Because of the dialogues, there were new ideas, [including] additional extension of existing routes or additional routes themselves, and then many of what we had heard were about the lack of [jeepney units] at the time. That was our opportunity to explain that what they were seeing on the road was not the final [iteration] of the number of vehicles, because at the time, many [transport] cooperatives were at the stage where they were procuring [new jeepney units],” Peñalosa told Daily Guardian.
“I recall that there was a portion of people from Jaro who complained that they weren’t reached [by the new jeepney routes] because the Tagbak terminal was not at the perimeter boundary of the city, and so the Buntatala and Metropolis areas were not being served, so we were having dialogues with the barangay [officials] in Buntatala, and we decided to require an extension of that route,” he added.
Regarding the “first town” routes coming from and to the neighboring Iloilo province towns of Leganes, Pavia, Oton, and San Miguel, Peñalosa said that these are the responsibility of the Iloilo provincial government, citing the national government’s guidelines.
“The [LPTRP] guidelines say that it is not up to us to include that because it is already with the [provincial government], but we have clarified again and again that we do not oppose that [routes from neighboring towns]. [Treñas] sits as chairperson of the [Metro Iloilo-Guimaras Economic Development Council], and he was concerned that whatever was related to needs to the [council] as a whole, we needed to attend to that as well,” he stated.
Treñas has formally endorsed the LTFRB’s approval to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, likewise on Tuesday, March 21.
The city council would still need to amend City Regulation Ordinance No. 2022-027, which adopted the LPTRP originally approved by the LTFRB in early 2022.
