Public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers in Iloilo have uninstalled plastic barriers inside their units.
This, after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-6) gave its go signal for the move.
Last week, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the mother agency of the LTFRB, admitted that the use of plastic barriers to separate passengers was not backed by science.
“Drivers and operators can already remove them because there are no medical findings, based on our studies, that they can prevent the spread of COVID-19. Instead, the virus could stick to them,” said Assistant Transportation Secretary for road transport Mark Steven Pastor.
Meanwhile, Raymundo “Boyet” Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA), expressed his disappointment.
“Daw pareho lang nga gin-intu kita,” he lamented.
Parcon said all the drivers spent time and money to put up plastic sheets as barriers and some of them were even fined for failing to immediately comply.
Jeepneys and other public utility vehicles (PUVs) in the city, which is currently under Alert Level 3, have been allowed to operate at full capacity.IMT/Photo by Ian Paul Cordero
