Barili VM denies plan to ban habal-habal

CEBU, Philippines - Barili Vice Mayor Marlon Garcia has denied talks circulating in his town that he will no longer allow habal-habal and trisikad to operate if he wins as mayor in 2013 elections.

In fact, Garcia announced that he will push for the giving of insurance to the drivers in line with the thrust of the administration of his sister, Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, to provide insurance to informal sectors.

The Cebu Provincial Government has been giving insurance to farmers and fishermen aside from frontliners in the delivery of basic services such as barangay tanods, lupon and barangay health workers.

“They are spreading false information, it’s not true that I will scrap the trisikad and habal-habal. I cannot dare deny them of their means of livelihood,” Vice Mayor Garcia said in a press statement.

“These drivers are just making a living so how can I kill them slowly?” he added.

Vice Mayor Garcia accused Mayor Teresito Mariñas of spreading the rumors to the Barili Trisikad Operators and Drivers Association (Batoda).

Meanwhile, Garcia also vowed to do away with the payment for the use of the town’s  ambulance by patients needed to be transported to Cebu City hospitals.

Right now, the municipality charges P1,000 for the use of ambulance and the driver.

Garcia said that the practice of charging patients for the ambulance has been there even before he became vice mayor, and he would like to stop this if he wins as mayor.

Garcia also assures to increase the assistance given to individuals for medical needs.

Other towns like Medellin in northern Cebu has since allowed the use of the ambulance for free, which started in 2007 when Mayor Ricardo Ramirez assumed office.

Garcia and Marinas were runningmates in the last elections under One Cebu Party but has since parted ways. Mariñas shifted alliance with the Liberal Party.

Recent issues they quarreled over include the garbage collection in the town, the slashing of fuel allocation for the mayor’s office and the most recent one, the tourist coaster given by the Capitol as prize for being in the top 10 of the E-Gwen contest.

“Let’s put the campaign on a professional level. If he has done something good, let him say what these are. Just don’t hurl cheap shots and unprofessional lies,” Garcia called on Marinas.— /FPL (FREEMAN)