Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) remained firm on banning tricycle as a means of transporting health workers and sick residents in Pasig despite the appeal of Mayor Vico Sotto.
DILG Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya said Mayor Vico should check how other local government units transport their health workers. He also said other municipalities and cities did not allow tricycles to operate in their areas.
“Kung ang purpose po natin ay health workers, sana po tingnan ng lungsod ng Pasig ‘yung ginawa ng ibang lungsod… For example po sa Parañaque po, humiram sila ng bus sa Okada at City of Dreams at sa Solaire, ‘yung lahat ng bus gumawa sila ng ruta… doon nila pinapasakay ang kanilang health workers,” Malaya said.
(If our purpose is for health workers, the city of Pasig hopefully would look at what other cities have done. For example in Parañaque, they borrowed buses from Okada and the City of Dreams and Solaire, all buses make their route. That is how they transport their health workers.)
“Ang Parañaque ba ay pinayagan ang mga tricycle? Hindi. Sa Quezon City ba pinayagan ang tricycle? Hindi rin. Ang hindi ko po maintindihan, kung nagagawan po ng paraan ng ibang LGU na makagawa ng sistema ng paghahatid ng health workers sa kanilang pupuntahan, bakit hindi magawa ng Pasig?” he added.
(Did Parañaque allow tricycles? No. Is the tricycle allowed in Quezon City? No also. What I do not understand is that if other LGUs can come up with a system for transporting health workers to their destination, why can’t Pasig?)
Earlier, Sotto appealed to the national government to allow tricycles to ferry health workers and emergency patients to hospitals in Pasig.
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Malaya, however, insisted that the national government could exempt Pasig as doing so would defeat the entire purpose of the Luzon quarantine.
He added that other local government units could imitate Sotto’s action.
“Pasensya na po, Mayor. Hindi po talaga namin kayo puwedeng pabigyan. Kasi po if we allow mass transportation in Pasig, mamaya po magrerequest na ang Valenzuela, ang Cabuyao, magrerequest na po ang lahat…” Malaya said.
(I’m sorry, Mayor. We really can’t give you anything. If we allow mass transportation in Pasig, then Valenzuela, Cabuyao, all will appeal.)
Malaya also said the city government of Pasig could pull out the vehicle they gave to DepEd as well as the one given to OWWA.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles insisted that social distancing will be challenging to enforce in tricycles.