EDITORIAL — Dispatchers aren’t needed

As per complaints from passengers in the Cebu Port Authority area, dispatchers are making it difficult for them to find rides on their own, herding them to use certain vehicles, demanding money from them, and even harassing them for refusing to cooperate with them or pay.

According to a report in this newspaper, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has ordered to stop these activities.

“This is a challenge to all of us. We want our people and visitors to feel safe the moment they arrive in the City of Cebu... Dili nato tugotan ang pagpang-abuso sa atong mga pasahero," he said.

He has instructed the police to determine problem areas and enforce stricter regulations.

Two years ago, a columnist of The FREEMAN actually wrote about how passengers got off a ship and tried to get a cab, but some dispatchers insisted on flagging it down for them and asked for a fee for this “service”. When they refused to pay, dispatchers blocked the cab from leaving until payment was given.

We also picked this up in an editorial, hoping action would be taken. But apparently none has. Either that or those dispatchers just keep coming back to what they’re doing no matter what authorities do.

When you think about it, dispatching really isn’t a necessary “service”. Whether dispatchers are there or not in PUJ embarking/disembarking areas, bus stops, terminals, or other such places, passengers will get on a PUJ, a bus, or flag down a cab all on their own. Dispatchers aren’t needed.

And there is definitely no need for passengers or PUJ drivers to pay them either; it’s just an arrangement that became the “norm” after some enterprising individuals thought they could make money by “calling” for passengers to come or “looking” for a cab for someone else.

Now the mayor’s latest directive expands enforcement against dispatchers beyond the pier to include bus terminals, taxi stands, jeepney stops, V-hire terminals, and other major passenger loading zones.

The Cebu City Police and other enforcement units have also been ordered to take action against individuals and groups preying on commuters and drivers. Let’s see if change can really happen.