Romualdez apologizes for Tacloban traffic fiasco

TACLOBAN CITY — The plan to stop a public utility vehicle route from the city’s nearby village of Campetic to downtown Tacloban fizzled out after social media and radio stations were swamped with complaints from the public that were affected by the inconvenience.

But Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez put the blame on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board that insisted to stop the route if it cannot accommodate routes from other municipalities from entering the city’s downtown area.

 Romualdez turned to social media to explain his side and apologize to the public for the inconvenience.

 “It was very unfortunate. I would want to apologize as I felt that there was not enough public awareness and notice on the changes (that we implemented),” he addressed the public on a Facebook Live aired on Saturday.

 The route was stopped from entering the city proper last Monday where PUVs were only allowed up to Robinsons Marasbaras where passengers were dropped to take another PUV going to the city proper. However, Romualdez lifted the ban only after three days due to the public outcry.

Campetic is a village that is part of the neighboring town of Palo. The route was serving commuters from the city going to the government center where at least 20 national line agencies have their regional offices. Thousands of passengers are commuting the route during weekdays.

The route also serves students from two colleges, the Philippine Science High School, Leyte Provincial Capitol, Leyte Provincial Hospital and those from other municipalities going to the city. However, the route passes through secondary streets instead of the main road.