In the early morning of July 4, 2026, Saturday, I saw these delivery men pushing the carts of bread through Jover Street on their way to the Victorias Commercial Center.
The reason?
The roads around the Victorias Public Plaza were closed by the local government through City Ordinance No. 2025-014, the ordinance that resurrected the ‘car-free’ City Ordinance 2023-59 that was suspended in July 2025 after the citizens, vehicle owners, and tricycle drivers complained.
On April 10, 2025, during the committee hearing for my complaint against the Sangguniang Panlungsod at the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), I told the department heads, the city legal officer, and one councilor in attendance that closing roads would impact the local economy because the LGU was hampering the movement of people, goods, and services. That is Economics 101.
And this video is a perfect example of how that city ordinance the Sangguniang Panlungsod is negatively impacting the economy: the delivery men had to push their car through the road carrying bread which is food and should be protected from the elements and dirt. If it rains, what other difficulty do they have to go through just to deliver their goods? Worse, their time is wasted which could have been used for other productive chores.
And this is just what we see.
We do not see the senior citizens who had to walk from the entrance to the tricycle stop with their heavy ‘compra’ because the tricycles are not allowed to enter Jover Street where the entrance of the commercial center is located.
Also, during that ARTA hearing, I pointed out that the closing of Montinola Street, the road that leads to the city health office, police station, and fire station, is a very bad idea in times of emergency. If you are being rushed to the Kaayong Lawas health clinic, your tricycle cannot enter Montinola Street. If there is fire in the southern part of the city, the fire truck cannot enter Montinola and Yap Quina Streets, the fastest routes to the southern parts of the city.
Well, I guess the local government of Victorias does not want to listen to the people of Victorias.
In the meantime, this ordinance is causing perwisyo to everyone.ðŸ˜
#publicservice #governance #economy #economics #publicsafety #DILG #ARTA #ordinance #publicservants
