Tricycles fight for survival

Fearing that their days on the road are numbered, at least 700 tricycles drivers and operators staged a rally at the Chino Roces Bridge yesterday to seek relief from the Clean Air Act.

They later scored a minor victory when the government agreed to suspend for a month the Jan. 1 moratorium on new franchises for tricycles with two-stroke engines under a Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) resolution. The Clean Air Act calls for the replacement of motorcycles with two-stroke engines with cleaner four-stroke engines.

Led by the National Confederation of Tricycles Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (NATODAP), drivers and operators barricaded the streets leading to the bridge starting at around 3 a.m.

They urged President Arroyo to give them time to comply with the provisions of the Clean Air Act. It would be expensive for them to have their motorcycles immediately replaced, they said.

Traffic along Nicanor Reyes (formerly Morayta) and Legarda was at a standstill as protesters blocked both lanes of the thoroughfares. The Quiapo-bound lane of Ramon Magsaysay Boulevard was also blocked, affecting traffic as far as Sta. Mesa.

Students who returned to classes at the city’s University Belt got off passenger jeepneys and buses that were caught in the traffic jam.

At around 10:30 a.m., Agrarian Reform Secretary Hernani Braganza, who is the President’s special envoy for addressing the concern of tricycle drivers, arrived at the bridge with Environment Secretary Elisea Gozun and Transport Undersecretary Arturo Valdez to meet with Ariel Lim, NACTODAP leader.

The protesters left peacefully after talking with Braganza, who assured them that the moratorium would not be implemented for a month and will be studied further. However, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando clarified that tricycle operators would not be affected by the moratorium on new "two-stroke" franchises.

The MMDA resolution had noted that the estimated 12,000 two-stroke tricycles in Metro Manila generate substantial amounts of air pollutants.

Fernando explained that the resolution only covers applications for new franchises and not existing holders.

"In fact, they can still use their motorcycles for a very long time, maybe even until they eventually break down," Fernando said. – With Marvin Sy, Marichu Villanueva