CEBU CITY — The commuting public here can enjoy free bus rides starting Thursday until Christmas Eve — a Christmas gift of President Rodrigo Duterte and his former long-time special assistant, Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, to the Cebuanos.
Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino said this project is dubbed as “Ligtas Biyahe, Libreng Sakay Pamasko 2018”.
Land Transportation Office-Central Visayas Regional Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the free bus rides could be availed starting at 5 p.m. until 10 p.m.
The project is a collaboration between the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), Dino noted.
“The stops are indicated, and the buses will only take passengers outbound, meaning we will only take passengers from pick-up to end point,” Caindec said.
The rides are divided into two trips with a fleet of five buses tailing one another in each direction, he said.
South-bound trip will pick up passengers at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) along the corner of S. Osmeña Boulevard and P. del Rosario Street. This trip has five stopovers: McDonald’s across Shopwise, Total Gasoline Station in Basak Pardo, Citi Hardware in Bulacao, Atlantic Hardware in Tabunok, and will end at Starmall in Lawaan, Talisay City.
Caindec said the north-bound trip will start at the Plaza Independencia with first stopover at SM City Cebu and will stop at San Miguel Brewery in Tipolo and Pacific Mall in Ibabao, Mandaue City. The fourth stop of the north-bound trip will be at the Pagsabungan church and will end at the SM Consolacion.
Caindec said the buses will not take passengers who are city bound, adding that one bus will serve senior citizens, persons with disabilities and pregnant women. “All other buses are on first come, first served basis,” he noted.
The buses will be escorted by personnel from the LTO-7, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-7), Highway Patrol Group and the Philippine National Police while en route to their respective destinations.
LTFRB-7 Regional Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said passengers should not patronize “colorum” (unregistered) vehicles this holiday season, as the national government itself has offered free bus rides as its Christmas present to the Cebuano commuters.
