By Joel B. Belinan
“Libreng Sakay,” says the tarps on the fronts and sides of several public utility jeepneys. These first appeared in some major routes last
April in Baguio City. For a long time, I did not bother flagging these PUJ’s thinking that these were intended for APOR’s (authorized persons outside of residence) only. Never mind that I am a part-time media practitioner so am also an APOR. I just had no interest to ride these as they are the so-called modern jeepneys. But last week when I had a hard time getting a ride along the Trancoville route I rode one with a plan to pay my fare, only to be surprised that inside is another notice that states “Bawal magbayad”. When I asked the driver, he said that when they were contracted the first time around last year the rides were intended for APORs only, but now there is no more distinction whether APOR or not. In short, these are now for the general riding public or commuters.
Allegedly, this is a national government program through the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) and will end at the end of this month or the end of the Duterte administration. Then this week, suddenly a few vans with tarps of “libreng sakay” also appeared along the Guisad (Ferguson Rd) route, The question is, it appears that these vans have no franchises to ply the route as, by all appearances, these are private vehicles. Because of this, the riding public didn’t seem to notice them and the drivers didn’t care to slow down even when there were passengers on the roadsides. Out of curiosity, even if a van was running fast, I flagged it down, not for me but for my friend, a Russian Monk whom I was sending off to town. It was empty. That meant the vans were just running on our roads, consuming gas, adding to the traffic congestion, and being paid by the government without serving their purpose. Since this was happening in the Guisad Pinsao route, it might have been the same in other areas, perhaps with the exception of the main routes of Trancoville, Aurora Hill, and BGH. I wonder how the program affected the jeepneys plying these routes.**
The Baguio Convention Center used to be a good venue for local combat sports tournaments. It is very accessible, can accommodate a big audience and, yes, the rentals were affordable then. Our group since 2012 had been holding tourneys there in boxing, kickboxing, muaythai, MMA, and the like, then it was closed for renovation starting in 2018. People in our group who have been organizing tournaments were expecting that after the rehabilitation it will be very good for the sports as we will have a very good big venue for our events. Alas, that was just a dream. As it turned out, now that it has been completed and re-opened, the rental rates have become unaffordable to us. As published by the city government, the rates follow:
The rental fee of the entire hall which has a maximum capacity of 2,000 is P80,000.00 for a ten-hour use per day, P45,000.00 for a five-hour use per day, and P5,000.00 per hour for every extra hour use, such as for rehearsals, and setting up. The rental fee of the Ground Hall which has a maximum capacity of 800 is P60,000.00 for a ten-hour use per day, P35,000.00 for a five-hour use per day, and P5,000.00 per extra hour.
The Executive Lounge (25 maximum capacity), Executive Boardroom (30 maximum capacity), and Basement Function Room (70 maximum capacity) has a rental fee of P6,000.00 for a ten-hour use per day; P3,500.00 for a five-hour use per day; and P400.00 per extra hour of use.
The Lobby or Receiving Room (50 maximum capacity) has a rental fee of P5,000.00 for a ten-hour use per day, P3,000.00 for a five-hour use per day, and P400.00 per extra hour of use.
The rental fee of the whole basement which can accommodate up to 1,200 individuals is P40,000.00 for a ten-hour use per day, P22,000.00 for a five-hour use per day; and P5,000 per extra hour of use. For the half of the basement which can accommodate up to 200 individuals, the rent is P12,000.00 for a ten-hour use per day, P7,000.00 for a five-hour use per day, and P1,000.00 per extra hour of use.
So for small people like us, forget the Baguio Convention Center as a venue for our events. And mind you these rates were not set by the city’s chief executive. It was set by an ordinance passed by our honorable city councilors. Alas, the very purpose of the city government’s acquisition of the BCC from the GSIS (Government Service Insurance Corporation) which was for the city and adjoining areas to have a convention center that is big and affordable has gone pfftt. **
