Bao-bao banned on nat’l roads, City Hall says

BAO-BAO or tri-cabs aren’t technically illegal but they and other tri-wheel vehicles are prohibited from passing through national roads, Cagayan de Oro City Hall officials insisted on Monday.

“Bao-baos aren’t illegal per se, they’re not like prohibited drugs. But their use in passing through the national highways is illegal. So those selling or buying these units aren’t doing anything illegal but they must understand that their vehicles come with restrictions on their use. That’s (the main point),” Atty. Edgardo Uy said in Visayan during Monday’s press briefing at the City Information Office.

Uy, who chairs the Rio de Oro Boulevard technical working group, along with Roads and Traffic Administration (RTA) chief Engr. Nonito Oclarit and RTA consultant Andrew Tupag fielded questions from local media on City Hall’s enforcement of a ban on bao-baos, traysikads, and other three-wheel vehicles along the national highway in Barangay Puerto which is undergoing lane expansion.

“Even with or without (an ongoing road project) from the national government, the ban on three-wheel vehicles from passing through national roads and highways remain in effect…the principal reason is to ensure the safety of both drivers and passengers (of these vehicles),” Engr. Oclarit said, referring to the road expansion project in Puerto by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Oclarit cited Memorandum Circular No. 2020-036 issued by the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) mandating local governments across the country to enforce the ban on tri-wheel vehicles from national roads and highways.

“Cagayan de Oro (is one of the few) local governments to enforce that ban,” Oclarit said, adding that tri-wheel vehicles cause congestion on national roads.

Privately-owned

“These tri-wheel vehicles especially the manually powered pedicabs and even the motorelas (cannot keep up with) four-wheel vehicles that can run at over 40 kilometers per hour at the national highway. That’s why the ban is for their safety,” Oclarit said in Visayan.

Despite this, Oclarit said there are bao-bao owners who use their vehicles as public transport in order to fast-track the payment of their units.

“These bao-baos are registered as privately owned vehicles at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) but for now they are not issued permits nor franchise to operate as a public utility vehicle,” Oclarit said.

Tupag said they emphasized this point in a recent meeting with 450 bao-bao operators.

“They can only pass through local or barangay roads but not national roads,” he said.

In response, the bao-bao operators said they only service commuters such as mall employees and other workers who are unable to board passenger jeepneys or taxis late at night or at dawn.

“That’s why we requested these transport groups—who are complaining about how the bao-boas are cutting down on their income—to assign more units to pick up passengers late at night or early morning,” Tupag said.

With the DILG circular still in effect, Tupag said City Hall’s Task Force on the Puerto highway project will enforce the total ban on tri-wheel vehicles from Barangay Bugo all the way to the road project site in the Puerto highway.

Oclarit said the DILG circular also mandates barangays to enforce the ban and being the lead traffic agency, the RTA is required to submit monthly reports on the enforcement of the ban.

“The DILG circular doesn’t recognize whether the tri-cab is used as a private or passenger vehicle, it’s just clear that they should be banned from the national highways,” Oclarit said.

A composite team consisting of the RTA, LTO, Cagayan de Oro City police, and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) are tasked to enforce DILG circular No. 2020-036, Oclarit said. (Stephen Capillas of City Information Office)