BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental, Philippines – Mayor Evelio Leonardia has granted the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in Bacolod a Special Authority for its transport services to operate as shuttle service for its employees within the city during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) period.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) passed on 15 April Resolution No. 381, authored by Councilor Dindo Ramos, chair of the SP Committee on Transportation and Traffic, granting authority to the mayor to issue a Special Authority to the BPOs for the said purpose.
Leonardia signed the Special Authority Thursday, 16 April, as he acted on the controversy involving the untimely apprehension by agents of Land Transportation Office (LTO) of vans-for-hire being contracted by BPO companies.
The mayor, however, clarified that per SP Resolution, the special authority was issued without prejudice to the BPO’s application for a special permit with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and other pertinent rules and regulations.
Further, he stressed, the special authority is non-transferable and is valid only until 30 April, 2020 – or the effectivity of the ECQ.
The resolution states that the control pass shall be posted on each transport service vehicle.
BPO companies granted Special Authority are Teletech, Teleperformance, Transcom, Panasiatic Solutions, Ubiquity, IQOR, Concentrix, Telesynergy, and FGC+.
It can be recalled that at the height of the controversy, Leonardia contacted immediately the top officials of LTO and LTFRB in Western Visayas to allow the vans-for-hire to continue servicing the employees of BPOs.
Leonardia appealed for humanitarian and practical approach in dealing with the BPO sector during this crisis.
Both LTO-6 regional director Eric Lenard Tabaldo and LTFRB-6 regional director Richard Osmeña assured Leonardia of their compliance and cooperation on his request.
Public transport has been suspended in Bacolod City and the rest of Negros Occidental after the city and the provincial governments declared an Enhanced Community Quarantine from 30 March to 14 April, and later extended it to 30 April.
But under Executive Order No. 26 of Leonardia, private establishments providing essential goods and services, such as the BPOs, may be allowed to operate.*/CITY PIO
