Short of saying it is unsafe and dangerous, the Quezon City government has intensified the crackdown on “kuliglig” (improvised tractor trikes), as 130 of them that ply DSA-Balintawak were confiscated as part of its drive against “colorum” (illegal or unlicensed) vehicles.
Mayor Joy Belmonte warned that all clearing operations on the city’s major thoroughfares, secondary roads, and road right-of-ways will be intensified to maintain law and order.
She noted the clearing operations led by the Task Force for Transport and Traffic Management started in November last year but the apprehended drivers were initially given warnings.
Belmonte said the city government had offered the affected groups support programs that would provide them with sufficient livelihood.
In a dialogue with the apprehended drivers, Belmonte offered three modes of assistance for their livelihood amid the banning of kuligligs on city thoroughfares.
Belmonte said apprehended drivers can avail themselves of the “Balik Probinsya” program, where they can reclaim their sidecars and use them to earn a livelihood in their hometowns.
Apprehended drivers can surrender their sidecars in exchange for R5,000 cash aid and alternative livelihood assistance or they can simply apply for the city’s e-trike program.
The city government also offered livelihood assistance to their wives and scholarships for the children of kuliglig drivers.
Ben Ibon, head of the Tricycle Regulatory Division, kuligligs are prohibited from operating on national highways and main thoroughfares as regular tricycles and pedicabs. (Chito Chavez)