Dispatchers in the city (1st of two parts) Why do they exist despite a law banning them?

CEBU, Philippines - “Lahug!”

“Talamban!”

“Lahug!”

Ritchie, 36, and Ceferino, 35, earn a living using their voices. Both of them are dispatchers or barkers, who call for passengers for jeepneys that stop by the corner of D. Jakosalem and Colon streets.

Dispatchers or barkers usually station themselves in jeepney stops and other places where people gather to wait for a ride.

P03 Marlon Abella of the Cebu City Police Office -Traffic Group’s Anti-Dispatching Unit said there are about 300 dispatchers operating in different areas in the city.

In exchange for calling out for passengers, dispatchers get P1 to P5 from jeepney drivers, depending on the time they spent calling for passengers, as well as the number of passengers they were able to call for the jeepney.

Anti-dispatching Ordinance

Dispatching or barking for passengers is considered illegal in Cebu City as early as the late ‘50s, through City Ordinance 251 approved on April 6, 1959 with a penalty of P100.

For the past 54 years, however, the anti-dispatching ordinance underwent so many revisions to adjust the penalties.

The latest version, City Ordinance 2108, which was enacted in 2007, carries a fine of P3,000 for violators, as well as six months imprisonment.

The ordinance provides that if the apprehended violator would opt not to be prosecuted in court, he would be required to pay a P2,500 fine directly to the City Treasurer’s Office. Once the complaint has already been filed and docketed in court and the violator decides to have the case amicably settled, the penalty is much higher.  

The city ordinance defines dispatching as “an act of procuring, soliciting, or escorting passengers or would-be passenger vehicles whether such act is done under direction of the driver or operators and done with or without collecting or demanding fees.”

Aside from dispatchers, the amended Anti-Dispatching Ordinance also prohibits the so-called “watch-your-car” boys because these persons demand money from the motorists who park their vehicles along the road.

Former city councilor Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba, who used to be the chairman of the City Council committee on traffic management, believed that raising the fine to P3,000 for every violation may discourage people from doing such “extortion activities.”

Alcoseba was, however, wrong because despite the higher fines and the accompanying prison term, the number of dispatchers and watch-your-car boys has increased over the years.

Despite the increased fines, Ritchie and Ceferino continue to engage in dispatching activities.

“Napriso na mi kay nadakpan dihang mihingusog ang mga polis pagpanakop sa mga dispatchers,” said both Ritchie and Ceferino. Ritchie, a resident of San Isidro, Talisay said, “Wala man g’yuy laing trabaho gud sir.”

Records from the City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) show that in 2011, there were 924 violators of the anti-dispatching ordinance that were apprehended and charged in court. The number of apprehended violators went down to only 716 in 2012 and from January to August this year, only 330 dispatchers have been apprehended.

“Mobalik ra lagi kay inig-file namo sa kaso sa fiscal’s office pabuhian ra man ang dispatchers kay summary proceeding ra man basta city ordinance. Takulahaw lang among makit-an nga mibalik na ‘sab sa karsada og managan inig kakita namo,” said PO3 Abella of the anti-dispatching team.

A summary proceeding is a court action in which the formal procedures normally applicable to matters, such as conducting discovery, are dispensed with. Although some of the legal processes are dispensed with, certain fundamental rights must be observed, such as the right to a jury, notice, and opportunity to be heard. The accused is released from police custody and is required only to return to the court during the trial of their cases.

PO3 Abella said the problem is that when the dispatchers facing summary proceedings are released upon the order of the prosecutors, they will no longer appear during the trial of their cases, usually prompting the judge to put their dockets in archive.

P03 Edgar Baton of the CCPO-Traffic Group suggested that apprehended dispatchers should be required to render civic duties as their penalty rather than charge them in court. “Daku kaayo og gasto ang gobyerno pagpakaon ana nila kon prisohon human makonbikto,” he said.

Ritchie said he stayed in jail for five months because he pleaded guilty to the charges filed against him.

Drivers are helpless,

authorities outnumbered

Dispatchers do not bother passengers but they are a burden to jeepney and even taxi drivers.

Drivers of public utility vehicles, who asked not to be identified, said they are forced to give coins to these barkers for fear that something will happen to them if they will not give in to the demands. The drivers’ fears are fueled by talks that some dispatchers are ex-convicts.

“Mapugos ra g’yud mi paghatag anang mga dispatchers kay suyakan man ang ligid sa among sakyanan og hulgaon mi nila kon dili mohatag. Daghan ra ba kaayo na sila,” PUJ driver Angel Tulic told The Freeman.

The authorities, members of the CCPO-Traffic Group, are also having a difficult time implementing the city ordinance.

The CCPO-Traffic Group assigned two teams for anti-dispatching. Each team is composed of one policeman and a civilian driver. The teams, however, do not have a vehicle they can use anytime.

Abella admitted it would risky for them to apprehend dispatchers because they are outnumbered.

The Freeman monitored the activities of the dispatchers operating in front of a mall along Leon Kilat Street and at the intersection of Colon and P. Lopez streets.

Although there are only three to four dispatchers barking for passengers at one time, one dispatcher usually has four to five companions, including a person who acts as their leader, monitoring the activities of the dispatchers in the premises.

Ang uban diha nga dispatcher, mga kauban nila mga bag-ong laya gikan sa prisohan, moanha ra diha kay mangwarta,” said Abella, who has been assigned to the anti-dispatching team for seven years already. There are also dispatchers, he added, who engage in snatching.

The lack of cooperation from PUJ drivers is also a problem for the policemen in the anti-dispatching team. Aside from continuing to give to dispatchers, drivers also refuse to execute affidavits to support the filing of charges against the barkers.

Of the 1,970 cases filed in court against apprehended barkers since in 2011, not one driver executed an affidavit against the dispatchers.

If each dispatcher will earn at least P200 everyday and there are 300 barkers operating in the city, about P60,000 is taken from the daily income of the PUJ drivers. To be continued… — /QSB (FREEMAN)