“We become what we repeatedly do.” – Aristotle
Well, it is always good to see the presence of the law enforcement agencies of the national government such as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the PNP-Highway Patrol Group (HPG).
In the last regular session of the Provincial Board, LTFRB regional director Enrico Moreno Bautista, along with Angelo Quinto, officer-in-charge of LTFRB Palawan, were invited by the board members to “answer some questions” pertaining to the public transport sector, particularly on the shuttle vans that run regularly in the stretch of north and south Palawan.
Some board members had reacted to information that the LTFRB imposed a 30-day suspension on the 135-member El Nido Transport Cooperative in violation of public transport rules.
In the session, Moreno and Quinto had clearly pointed out their primary duty, which is to ensure the safety of the riding public, while some of the Board Members would want to intercede on behalf of the affected drivers and operators of the shuttle vans, citing livelihood and the tourist industry.
Although Quinto had assured the 135 members of the El Nido Transport Cooperative that the imposed suspension would be lifted once they had complied with all the legal requirements of the LTFRB to avoid “colorum” or unregistered and unauthorized public utility vehicles (PUVs) that operate without a franchise or violate their designated routes.
For decades, I know for a fact that there are too many colorum shuttle vans in Palawan that have no franchise but have continued to take passengers, even in the island of Coron.
It is good that the LTFRB has a satellite office now in Puerto Princesa City to address this perennial problem of PUVs, including the colorum shuttle vans. Under the law, these vehicles are illegal because they bypass government regulations, lack proper insurance for passengers, and pose significant safety risks.
There were so many accidents here in Palawan where the poor passengers could not claim insurance because, unknown to them, the PUV was colorum, yet they were allowed to travel.
I know also that some local politicians have engaged in the public transport business by having their own shuttle vans that have been regularly plying to transport passengers on routes from Puerto to El Nido and Puerto to Bataraza, which made the local politicians wary of the suspension order.
Other local politicians have their hotels in El Nido that badly need the shuttle vans to fetch arriving tourists at the Puerto Princesa International Airport to El Nido.
While some individual shuttle van owners with no franchise were compelled to join transport cooperatives, provided they would pay a hefty amount.
I know Quinto is a soft-spoken and very diligent official of the agency, that he would not allow those individuals who were doing an illegal act of fixing to get a franchise. He is a big help in the land transportation of Palawan.
It is now the right time to castigate these hard-headed shuttle van operators in the transport sector to at least minimize the problem of colorums.
Quinto is prominently from Tuguegarao City, Cagayan Province. He was my classmate in Arellano Law School, and my Masonic brother in Araw Lodge No. 18 of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines, Manila.
Welcome to Palawan, Brod. Angelo.
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On the matter of the city government of Puerto Princesa, the City Council is set to pass their 2026 budget in the aggregate amount of P6 billion this week.
In the 2026 budget, the office of the City Engineer has the biggest chunk of allocation because of the 20 percent development fund. The fund is allocated to projects like infrastructure, solid waste management, and social services to promote local development.
On Thursday morning of November 30, I attended the hearing of the committee of appropriations chaired by City Councilor Modesto Rodriguez on the proposed P1,105,569,228 budget of the City Engineering headed by City Engineer Aries Grande.
During the hearing, City Engineer Aries Grande and City Architect Honesto Teves had taken turns to answer the valid questions of the city councilors and Vice Mayor Peter Maristela.
I was astounded because I could not believe that these things were allowed at the expense of the taxpayers’ money.
Rodriguez mentioned that City Treasurer Jerome Padrones went to him and made mention of the “idle funds in billions” of the unimplemented infrastructure projects of the city government.
He said Padrones explained that the accumulated idle funds were due to some projects that had no program of works and projects that had legal problems.
I had searched about the idle funds that Rodriguez mentioned.
The Commission on Audit (COA) reported that the Puerto Princesa city government had P1.7 billion in idle funds. These funds were reportedly placed in time deposits instead of being used for intended projects, in violation of the Local Government Code of 1991.
Both Grande and Teves could not explain how it happened under their noses that some infrastructure projects had no program of works, no road right of way, no legal documents that the property belonged to the city government that impeded the delays, and even appropriations were advanced.
Maristela said they would seek a legal opinion about the P1.7 billion idle funds.
Maristela questioned Grande and Teves on how the City Government spent government funds to build a school building without proper deed of donation?
Maristela cited the Tagbarungis Elementary School in Barangay Inagawan where there was no legal title over the land but the city government built it.
Maristela cited that, without any deed of donation, it would be illegal for the city government to spend funds for private lots in the city proper to be cemented as city roads.
Grande and Teves seemed not to be licensed engineers and architects when giving answers to questions.
They just presented a budget proposal without keenly studying some of them.
There was a proposed Musical Fountain in Baywalk which cost P50 million that, according to the budget proponent, he had only seen in Singapore during his tour but was not able to talk with any engineer in Singapore.
Grande and Teves proposed to have a 3-storey building to house the entire personnel of the City Engineering and the City Architect near the motor pool area. Grande defended that their office has 500 employees that are composed of five divisions.
There were proposed solar street lights amounting to P45 million in the barangays.
There was a proposed public market in Irawan which cost P33 million.
A 2-storey building for the City Sports office which costs P30 million.
And consulting services that amount to P25 million.
Grande said the coliseum facade was also proposed to have colorful lights.
In satire, City Councilor Herbert Dilig said Grande should build a comfort room that is as good as the comfort room of Irawan Caltex owned by businessman William Tan, which was an estimated cost, according to Grande, of almost 2 million.
Dilig said Grande should make at least a similar comfort room with the same cost for the use of the public.
Public comfort rooms in Baywalk, Sports Complex, and Puerto Princesa Underground River station are substandard so that the public are not comfortable to use them.
Rodriguez said Grande should design with aesthetic and art to make it more comfortable while inside the public comfort rooms.
