The taxicab narrative

By Uriel Quilinguing        

AMONG the elements that make up a good story is when it gives a satisfying ending. Since no one is certain at the start whether conflicts would be resolved, we just cross our fingers and hope for the best. 

Let’s take the story of taxicabs in Cagayan de Oro about three decades ago, at a time when those on the streets can just be counted by the fingers. And taxicab operators, all with franchises, can easily be identified; three of them were KKQ of Oscar “Oca” Salcedo, Ever of Elvino “Vino” Tan, and Royal of Reynaldo “Rey” Orimaco. 

It was in the 1990s when Oro Taxi, the association of taxi operators composed of about 20 members, was actively involved in providing the riding public comfort and safety in commuting within the city and environs. But not too long after, illegally operated taxicabs came in due to franchise issuance lapses in the regional office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board. 

Taxicab franchises were issued wholesale—even in the absence of vehicles —and failure of the LTFRB central office to set the desired number of units for the city. There was no moratorium in the issuance of franchises to talk about. 

Then, Oro Taxi figuratively died a natural death when there were more operators and taxis that were needed by commuters. There was a proliferation of “colorum” taxicabs. The question then, perhaps, until now: Who else should the accusing finger be directed to? 

Since there was just too many taxicabs, many operators who had their multiple units financed by banks had difficulty coping with their financial obligations, hence they eventually stopped operating. 

Almost 20 years later, the issue of taxicabs operating illegally resurfaced. So this is not completely new. 

Councilor Roger Abaday must be commended for calling the attention of his colleagues in the City Council on the urgency to address the proliferation of taxicabs without licenses to operate. Regional director Aminoden Guro of the LTFRB-10 deserves the same commendation for responding to the City Council’s invitation and the composure during the exchanges of ideas, even if his explanations on why illegal taxicabs exist may have fallen short of lawmakers’ expectations. 

In news reports that came out later, Guro admitted that he was aware of taxicab illegal operations, yet his office tolerated the questionable practice just because many of the drivers were victims of the Marawi siege and that taxicab driving was a source of livelihood their relatives in Cagayan de Oro provided to them so that they may be on their feet again. 

Another admission was—upon knowing taxicabs are operating illegally—that his office does not have enough manpower to do the apprehensions regularly. 

These arguments reminded me of an incident sometime in April, this year, at the height of the campaign period, when the lot which the LTFRB-10 has been renting for impounded motor vehicles at Macapagal road near the entrance gate of Golden Haven, was filled by taxi motor vehicles. But that was only for a day, since it was only for a show to a team from LTFRB central office who flew in to personally see if their regional office was dead serious in the agency’s anti-illegal taxi campaign. The next day, after the LTFRB central office team left, the “impounded” vehicles were reportedly back on the streets. 

For now, that scene could be just water under the bridge. 

But it appears LTFRB officials do not know who the taxi operators are, who among them have franchises for taxi operation, and how many franchises it has issued. Perhaps, the regional office of LTFRB has not automated the recording of its day-to-day transactions since the exact number of taxis with franchises could not exactly be determined. 

What was published was that there are “about 2,770” taxicabs with franchises and that there are at least 300 that are operating illegally. Of course, it is understandable if there is no exact number of “colorum” taxicabs unless the office itself is behind their operations. 

Today, counting exactly how many taxicabs with franchises are there necessitates proper storage of data in a computer, although fingers are still needed for encoding. Still, let’s keep our fingers crossed for the next edition of this taxicab narrative. 

(Uriel C. Quilinguing is a former president of the Cagayan de Oro Press Club who, for more than three decades, has been editor in chief of Cagayan de Oro-based newspapers, including this paper. For reactions, e-mail them to uriel.quilinguing@yahoo.com.)