Baguio under calamity state due to fuel crisis

TRANSPORT WOES Passengers at a jeepney terminal in Baguio City were few on Thursday as it was the Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) holiday. But on regular workdays, residents endure long lines at the city’s business district to wait for their ride home as local drivers choose to limit their trips to save on fuel. —VINCENT CABREZA

BAGUIO CITY—Residents dealing with long lines at jeepney terminals here on their way home at night found some relief on Wednesday when more units were deployed—financed by the city government after Baguio was placed under a state of calamity.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong on Tuesday signed City Resolution No. 257 declaring a state of calamity which he asked the city council to pass before it adjourned on March 30 for the Holy Week break.

Councilor Peter Fianza, a former city administrator, had informed the local legislature that a resolution may no longer be necessary after President Marcos placed the country under a state of national energy emergency on March 24.

The Philippines is among the Southeast Asian countries hit hardest by unstable world oil prices triggered by the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran starting on Feb. 28. The crisis worsened as Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz where 20 percent of global oil supply, especially those bound for Asia, passes through.

Resolution No. 257, which the Baguio council passed unanimously, provides authority to Magalong to use the city’s quick response fund (QRF) representing 1.5 percent of the city’s P3.26-billion budget, and secures a share from the national disaster relief standby fund.

Part of the QRF will be spent on Baguio’s emergency transport support fund, said Amy Gas-ib, chief of the traffic division at the City Engineers Office, during a Wednesday briefing.

Under an arrangement drawn up in a March 18 dialogue and formalized on Wednesday, 295 units of the total 1,154 public utility jeepneys serving Baguio would be assigned to ferry passengers from 6 p.m. to as late as 11 p.m. in exchange for subsidies covering their trips back to the central business district, Gas-ib said.

The price of diesel, which public transport vehicles consume, has shot up, discouraging many of the jeepney drivers to serve passengers after 7 p.m. to stretch their fuel when they resume work the following day.

As of April 9, diesel sold for P165.70 a liter, maintaining the same high rates recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday by the Baguio police.

Gas-ib said the subsidy would be based on the prevailing diesel prices and would adjust should prices rise again next week.

She also announced that subsidies for taxi drivers are being prepared once her office completes the list of 3,346 taxi units in Baguio.

Subsidies in CDO

In Cagayan de Oro City, the local legislature approved an emergency declaration during a special session on Tuesday, allowing Mayor Rolando Uy to use the QRF to provide fuel subsidies to transport workers.

Public utility vehicles have been reeling from the fare hike moratorium imposed by the national government hence the city government is providing P2,000 on top of the P5,000 provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Jeepney drivers have also asked commuters to voluntarily increase the fare they give at every ride, from P12 per passenger to P15. —WITH A REPORT FROM FROILAN GALLARDO