Surge in cabs using LPG

It may have escaped the notice of most Bacolodnons, but there has been a sudden surge of cabs using LPG as fuel. I have been asking questions of several taxi drivers, and many of them now admit driving for firms that have been using LPG or have converted their units to LPG.

That may account for the increased usage of LPG in Bacolod . But that still does not solve the problem of the rising petroleum prices that the government had to do away with one percent of the tariff on oil. This is reportedly designed to ease the plight of the poorest consumers. Still, that is no guarantee that it will lower the cost of oil.

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Most of us have eyes trained on the forthcoming operationalization of the international airport of Silay City with Vice President Noli de Castro as the principal guest in lieu of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

And we are watching with bated breath whether Silay City Mayor Jose “Oti” Montelibano can have McKinley Road lighted before the inaugural flights of the three major airlines.

So, too, with the shuttle buses. And the affordable rates they will charge commuters when they go to Barangay Bagtic, which is 20 kilometers away.

The VISAYAN DAILY STAR editorial is correct. These are matters that should have been attended to long before the scheduled inaugural. But, as with the usual Filipino habit, last minute preparations are being resorted to address a problem that should have been addressed a long time back.

I remember that when the cab rates and the issue of shuttle buses first hit Iloilo City , I had already written about the problem as the same that could emerge in Bacolod with the airport's transfer to Silay.

But it seems nobody paid attention to them.

So with the state of the roads leading to the airport. While there were talks about additional access roads, nothing much was done to improve the Circumferential Road from the subdivision which leads to the Circumferential which reportedly will serve as the shortcut approach to Bagtic.

The Circumferential Road , as I had written about and personally reported to Rep. Monico Puentevella, has a lot to be desired. True, some portions had been repaired and reinforced. But these are too few the stretches that can now boast of being able to handle the heavy volume of cane truck traffic.

And the long stretch from Montevista to Bata remains virtually wavy for private vehicles. Not only there, but also from Mansilingan up to the government center.

In short, the Department of Public Works and Highways needed to be shepherded so it could handle the job more efficiently and speedily. Only a personal look-see by Puentevella may be able to prod the DPWH to hasten its work.

I understand that the maintenance and repair budget for the Circumferential Road may have already been released. So, what's the delay in the work?

Even that repair of the small bridge in Barangay Montevista also needs to be speeded up. I wonder how long Burgos Street and the other side streets, which are now being used by heavy-loaded cane trucks, will they withstand the heavy pounding they receive daily?

We hope the problem be solved early before a major mishap occurs in the area of Villamonte.

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Yesterday, I was listening to the TV interview of an engineer who exposed the alleged anomalies in the repair and reconstruction of the Libertad and Burgos Markets.

There was a long list of materials which either were not fully delivered or substituted with lesser products.

And yes of skylights that seem not to be the ones that had been ordered. As soon as I received the listing and the suspicious failure by the project officers and foremen to account for the substandard materials compared to the original order, I may be able to report on the matter more exhaustively.

It seems that City Administrator Roger Balo may yet have to receive a copy of the progress report on the public markets projects.

Unfortunately, despite his prolonged absence now, Balo has yet to send back word on what he intends to do and when he is coming back. Rumors are otherwise.

Could it be that he already has an inkling of what his subordinate have been doing behind his back?*

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