BULL’S HIT

Judge Ayson’s welcome decision on franchises
Rudy Garcia

“Ang katotohanan, gaano man ito itago, gaya ng mabaho, takpan man ito, aalingasaw at sisingaw pa rin ang baho. Kung may usok may sunog,” goes saying in Tagalog. I perceive this to be true with the latest development at the Dept of Transportation and Communications Cordillera regional office.

The decision of judge Ruben C. Ayson, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 6 in Baguio, dismissing for lack of merit a petition filed by 15 jeepney operators to compel then OIC regional director Alfredo Gozon of the DOTC-Cordilla Administrative Region and Baguio Land Transportation Office registrar Teodora Caguicla to register their vehicles for the Baguio Plaza-tiptop Ambuklao Route is a very welcome decision. It is like a triumph of the people of Baguio.

It can be recalled that these 15 jeepney operators filed applications for Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) and was granted by former DOTC-CAR Alfredo Mondiguing. 15 franchises for a new route were approved by Mondiguing despite an order from DOTC-secretary Leonardo Mendoza for a moratorium on the issuance of new franchises by the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Office-CAR, that any exemption to said moratorium must come only from him. Likewise, there was also an existing Baguio City council resolution on the moratorium of new franchises.

I wondered why, despite the said moratoriums, Mondiguing approved the 15 franchises for the new route without any exemption from the DOTC secretary and without any Baguio City council resolution endorsing the issuance of the CPC’s for the said new route.

In the same manner, instead of a city council resolution, a personal letter dated Sept. 29, 2006 from councilor Rocky Thomas Balisong in his capacity as “city councilor committee chairman urged the DOTC secretary to lift said moratorium which was used to justify the grant of said new CPC’s instead of a resolution by the committee on transportation of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Baguio or the SP as a whole. Fortunately, this was not acted upon by the DOTC Secretary.

Since Gozon and Caguila refused to register the operator’s vehicles as public utility vehicles after the retirement of Mondiguing, said operators filed a petition for mandamus to compel the two officials to register their vehicles claiming that such was just a ministerial act on their part to do so considering the decision of Mondiguing.

The court however denied the petition and declared the issued 15 CPCs by then DOTC-CAR director Mondiguing as “irregularly and illegally issued”. Further, the court noted that no less than the DOTC Secretary had written Gozon and Caguicla to immediately cause the revocation of the said CPC’s for being issued in violation of his moratorium.

In all indications, the 19 page decision of Judge Ayson has with far-reaching complications. In this connection, it is believed that there are hundreds of similarly issued CPCs during the same period, the reason why there is now worsening traffic congestion in the city of Baguio.

Added to this is worsening air pollution caused by vehicles emitting killer usok. I can’t help but wonder why the Baguio City Council particularly council committee chairman on transportation councilor Balisong did not made serious moves to defend their council resolution on the moratorium. Or are there some reasons why they did not lift any fingers for that matter? Well, perhaps we all got the same guess.

On te contrary, I appreciate the guts of Gozon and Caguicla. They are really public servants with principles. We need more of them for a better city, region, and community as a whole.

Nevertheless, with the new DOTC-CAR regional director Federico “Bong” Mandapat, a lawyer who is a true blooded Baguio boy, expert more unearthing or digging of mysteries at DOTC-CAR. Are there heads to roll at LTFRB-CAR now that Manong Bong is seriously on his campaign trail against graft and corruption under his turf? Again, place your bet!