TACLOBAN CITY-Lowly Filipino public utility vehicle drivers and their support organizations have heaved a temporary relief after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the extension for franchise consolidation of jeepney drivers and operators under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) to April 30, 2024.

“There is success in unified action. Today, thousands of drivers and small operators, and even millions of commuters, have reaped initial success. Because of our tireless collective action and determination to defend our livelihoods and rights, we pushed the Marcos regime to extend the deadline to April 30,” said Mody Floranda, Piston national president.
“But extension alone is not enough. Let’s continue to act until the business and foreign PUVMP is scrapped and fight for progressive, patriotic, and inclusive public transportation!” he added.

“This extension is to give an opportunity to those who expressed intention to consolidate but did not make the previous cut-off,” Marcos said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan. 24).
The government earlier set Dec. 31, 2023 as the original deadline for the consolidation of drivers and operators.

However, the government decided again that unconsolidated jeepneys and UV Express units only have until Jan. 31, 2024 “to operate in routes with less than 60 percent consolidation rate.”

According to the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB), public utility vehicles totaling 190,000 units, comprising of UV Express, public utility jeepneys, mini-buses, and buses, have availed of consolidation.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) it said that as of mid-January, UV express was able to achieve 82 percent consolidation; jeepneys, 75 percent; buses, 86 percent; and mini-buses, 45 percent, citing a report from the LTFRB.

Since the roll-out of the modernization program in 2017, a total of 1,728 cooperatives and corporations with 262,344 members were established, PCO added.

The consolidation or the formation of transport cooperatives or other legal entities will allow drivers and operators “to access benefits such as government subsidies and access to credit facilities, among others, to aid in modernizing their fleets and run the modernized units in a systematic and predictable manner,” the LTFB emphasized in its modernization campaign.(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY– The famed REO Brothers will hold a charity concert slated to be held on February 23 at the Leyte Academic Center in Palo, Leyte. The proceeds of the post-Valentine charity concert will be used to fund for the construction of the St. Jude Thaddeus Pastoral Center Project of the St. Jude Parish. Tickets for the concert are priced at P1,000, P500, and P300. The REO Brothers of Tacloban rose to prominence when they were featured in one of the programs of the ABS-CBN. They are known to render songs of the The Beatles, The Beach Boys, the Dave Clark Five, Bee Gees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, The Lettermen, America, The Ventures and the VST and Co. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY – The construction of the Maasin City Tourist Service Center and Rest Area continues is now underway.

This was disclosed by Mayor Nacional Mercado saying that the P110 million facility could help encourage more visitors to visit the city.

The construction of the tourist facility, located near the Maasin Terminal in Barangay Tagnipa, is funded under the 2022 Seal of Good Local Governance- Incentive Fund Project. Groundbreaking of the tourism center took place last August 2023.

Once completed, the two-storey building will have a coffee shop, Pasalubong display, air-conditioned comfort rooms that can accommodate persons with disabilities, a permanent location of the City Tourism Office, and a conference room for investors and visitors.
“We need to have a tourist center that will assist visitors and provide them information and data needed while visiting the city,” Mayor Mercado said.

Mercado added that the project will also help transform the city into a travelers haven that can become their source of pride.

“The local government aims to further develop and enhance the tourism industry in the city, providing a welcoming space for tourists and visitors,” he said.

As the capital of Southern Leyte province, Maasin City hosts most of the accommodation and other tourist service facilities. Several tourist destinations are found in the province are also located in the city. These include the pilgrimage sites and natural attractions.

Included in the pilgrimage sites found in the city is the Maasin City Cathedral built in the 1700s by Jesuit Missionaries and houses the 200-year-old statue of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion de Maasin.

The Jalleca Hills, in Brgy. Mantahan is where the 36ft image of Our Lady of Assumption is found, about 310 ft. above sea level, and the Monte Cueva, a shrine located inside a cave, 170 ft. above sea level.

Natural attractions popular among locals are the Guinsuhotan Falls and Cave, locally known as Cagnituan Falls, and Cave located in Brgy. Maria Clara.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)