public transportation

‘Sobrang hirap ng unang araw ng ECQ. Paano pa sa mga susunod na araw?’

Jezreel Ines

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

‘Sobrang hirap ng unang araw ng ECQ. Paano pa sa mga susunod na araw?’

CHECKPOINT. Manila Police District officers inspect motorists and public transport vehicles at a checkpoint along Dimasalang and España Boulevard in Manila on Friday, August 6, 2021.

Rappler

Commuters endure the long lines at different checkpoints because of the new policies in the third lockdown episode in Metro Manila

Kay Anne Reubal started her day an hour earlier on Friday, August 6, the first day of the lockdown in Metro Manila.

By 2 am, she was already waiting for a jeepney to take her from Antipolo City to Cubao in Quezon City. But she got her ride some two and a half hours later.

Reubal found relief when she finally boarded a jeepney going to work. It was still daybreak but her commute nightmare was just about to start when they reached a checkpoint along Marcos Highway.

The police manning the checkpoint inspected the jeepney she was in and reprimanded the driver because of overloading. Road-based transport vehicles like jeepneys were only allowed to have passengers half of their original capacity.

Must Watch

Delta variant now in 16 Metro Manila cities as ECQ begins | Evening wRap

Delta variant now in 16 Metro Manila cities as ECQ begins | Evening wRap

Reubal, who was already late for work at the time, was getting worried. She hoped that the police would let them pass through. Instead, all of the passengers inside the jeepney were asked to go down in the middle of Marcos Highway to look for another ride.

“Pinagalitan din kami. Bakit daw kami sumaskay nang puno na? Noong sumakay naman ako maluwag pa talaga. Siyempre, hindi naman namin kasalanan iyon ng mga pasahero kasi depende iyon sa nagpapasakay. Hindi ko naman akalain na pupunuin niya (driver) iyong jeep,” Reubal said.

(We were reprimanded. We were asked why did we have to ride a jeep if it was already full of passengers? When I rode it, it was not that full. Of course, it wasn’t the fault of the passengers because it really depends on the driver. I didn’t have any idea that the driver would take in more passengers.)

Reubal waited for almost half an hour just to find a vehicle that would bring her to Cubao. Her work starts at 4 am. But on Friday, she arrived at 6 am – two hours late for work.

Must Read

Hard lockdown again: Metro Manila begins 3rd ECQ

Hard lockdown again: Metro Manila begins 3rd ECQ

As the National Capital Region slipped into the first day of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), different checkpoints were set up around its the borders to limit entry of people.

The government said public transport supply during the previous general community quarantine (GCQ) would be retained during ECQ. The railways around the metro though seemed empty given the stay-at-home order.

But at the outskirts of the metro, commuters and motorists had to bear with heavy traffic and long hours of travel because of the new rules.

‘Walang masakyan’

On the other side of the metropolis, Marielle Esguerra started looking for a vehicle on superapp Grab at 2:30 am. She took a chance for a possible jeepney or taxi outside her home in Tondo, but even those were not available.

Esguerra knew that the lockdown meant her commute would be even more difficult, so she decided to start early. From Tondo, she also had to get to Cubao.

When she finally booked a Grab ride at 5:30 am, she and the driver encountered multiple checkpoints along the way.

This was because of the so-called “tiny bubbles” policy of the police, banning inter-city travel for non-APOR or authorized persons outside of residence.

“Sobrang hirap ng unang araw ng ECQ. Paano pa kaya sa mga susunod na araw hanggang August 20, hindi ba? Hindi man lang inisip iyong mga tao especially kaming mga nagta-trabaho,” Esguerra said.

(It was already difficult to commute during the first day of ECQ, how will it be the coming days until August 20? Right? It seemed like we, the workers, were just an afterthought.)

The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 looks visibly empty as only authorized persons can board the railway.
Rappler
Need for PUV contracting

Reubal and Esguerra were only two of the many workers who struggled to get to their offices because of the imposition of the ECQ.

Lou Gepuela of Move As One Coalition said the focus of checkpoints should be across the borders of Metro Manila and nearby provinces – not within the cities.

“I’m not seeing the point of checkpoints between LGUs (local government units). I am also wondering, hindi ba naka-bubble (NCR Plus) na tayo (weren’t we already part of the NCR Plus bubble)? I think the emphasis should be more on the borders of the bubble itself,” Gepuela said.

Gepuela said that the government should have implemented the service contracting program so that passengers were assured of a ride while drivers were also confident that they would earn despite the lockdown.

The service contracting program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) was halted on June 30, when the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act expired. The LTFRB has funds for the program, but they have yet to revive service contracting.

Instead, the Department of Transportation has been implementing a free ride program for vaccinated APORs at the railways. However, only over 30% of Metro Manila’s target population have been vaccinated. And many of those vaccinated were senior citizens or have comorbidities – thus, not necessarily APORs.

For Esguerra, she said the government should have thought about the plight of the commuters who relied on public transportation to get to work, before instituting new rules.

“Sana bago nila gawin iyong isang bagay, pag-aralan muna nila. Hindi naman kasi kaming mga tao ay pagpa-practicean lang ng mga ginagawa nila,” Esguerra said.

“Hindi kasi nila nararanasan iyong mga nararanasan namin,” she added.

(I hope before they implemented rules, they should’ve thought about it. We are people and they shouldn’t trying out these new rules on us. They put little thought into it because they don’t experience what we are going through.) – Rappler.com

Jezreel Ines is a Rappler intern. He is a journalism student at the University of the Philippines Diliman.

Add a comment

Sort by

There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.

Summarize this article with AI

How does this make you feel?

Loading
Download the Rappler App!
Face, Head, Person

author

Jezreel Ines

Jezreel is a researcher-writer at Rappler mainly focused on governance and social issues.