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Date...... 2.~ ... J. .. ~~~ .. JJ..~.Q ...... THE INFLUEI\UE OF HISTORY ON TRANSPORT
IN THE PHILIPPINES
FLOREM}I 0 D.. FIANZA (B.A .. SLU Philippines)
Thesis submitted to the University of New South Wales for the degree of Master of Engineering Science in the School of Transport and Highways
1980 u·NIVERS-ITY OF N.S.W.
7 7 2 58 11. DEC. 8 1
--=-L18 R A....:...:R:_;;_;_Y __ I, the undersigned, certify that the work described in this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS · i
ABSTRACT ii LIST OF FIGURES iv
LIST OF TABLES v COMMON ABBREVIATIONS vi
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Situation 1
1.2 Objectives 2
1.3 Scope and Limitations 4
CHAPTER 2 HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 7 2.1 Background 7
2.2 The Law Making Process 10
2.2.1 Spanish Period 12
2.2.3 American Period 13 2.2.4 After Independence 15
CHAPTER 3. ROAD TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT 18 3.1 Background 18 3.2 Early Development 21
3-3 Early American and Pre War Development 23 3-4 Post War Development 24 3-5 The Buses (PUB) 30 3.6 The Jeepneys (PUJ) 35 3.7 The Taxi Service (TX) 37 3.8 Trucks for Hire (TH) 37 3-9 The Tricycle 38 Page CHAPTER 4 GROWTH OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS 41 4.1 Background 41 4.2 Pre-spanish Settlements 46
4-3 Spanish Settlements 47 4.4 American Period 51 4.5 Present Trends 52
CHAPTER 5 TRANSPORT AGENCIES AND REGULATIONS 57 5-1 Present Situation 57 5.2 Public Service Regulations 59 5.3 Transport Agencies 61 5-4 The Board of Transportation 61 5.5 Functions of the Board of Transportation 63 5.6 The Franchise System 66
CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION OF TRANSPORT ISSUES 70
6.1 Background 70 6.2 The Board of Transportation 74 6.3 The Absence of a Transport Policy 76 6.4 Lack of Technical Skills 78 6.5 Effect of the Present Franchising System 79 6.6 Effects of Presidential Decree No. 101 82
CHAPTER 7 COJ\'CLUSIONS AND COMMENTARIES 86
REFERENCES R-1
APPENDIX A SOURCES OF DATA A-1
APPENDIX B PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 101 B-1 APPENDIX C SUMMARIES OF THE MORE RELEVANT ROAD AND
AND TRANSPORT LAWS C-1 i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to express his gratitude to the Philippine
government particularly the Philippine Constabulary for providing the opportunity for the undertaking of this study.
The writer also wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the
Australian government for the scholarship grant and to the help and assistance provided by the personnel of the Australian Development
Assistance Bureau.
The author is further indebted to the following persons who willingly gave their valuable time and effort throughout this project.
In particular, to Dr. John Black, who acted as supervisor throughout the period of the study, the author expresses his appre ciation for all his invaluable advice and assistance.
To Professor W.R. Blunden, Head of the School of Transport and Highways for his vnluable help and guidance.
To MG F.V. Ramos for his generosity in many forms, the author is eternally grateful.
To Miss Aurora C. Samson for her painstaking effort in typing this thesis, the author expresses his profound gratitude. ii
ABSTRACT
Transport in the Philippines has always played a very important role in the nation's economy. With the government's determined effort
to industrialize, large investments are being poured into transport deve lopment to support this process of economic development.
There are however, many transport problems and over the years, these problems have developed into a complex situation. Although there are problems in the other transport modes such as rail, air and water, it is in the public road transport sector that the problems are more pronounced and confused. The reasons are many and varied. Colonization is one important factor. Many of the prevalent transport issues today are deeply rooted to the country's colonial history and in order to have a better and clearer understanding of ~he present complicated transport situation, it is necessary to consider the historical context of trans port development, urban growth and government policies that have influenced transport growth.
This study therefore is an overview of the country's history as it relates to the transport issues and problems today. It is organized into two broad parts: the first portion presents an introductory chapter of the prevailing transport situation and the reason that prompted this study. The study then proceeds to give a general information on the
Philippines with respect to its geography, political development and the law making process designed to provide a better understanding on the evolution of laws and political si~ation by which the country is governed.
This is followed by tracing the development of road transport from the period of Spanish colonization to the present. It shows the shift in the dominance of the different transport modes from water, rail and then road. iii
The growth of urban settlements is then presented. Thi~ includes the different Spanish and American colonial economic and political poli cies that contributed to the pattern of dispersions which in turn influenced some of the transport problems today.
The different transport agencies are then taken together with how the present public service regulatory system originated.
The last portion of this study then discusses the important trans port issues and problems within the context of the history outlined. iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Title
1 Map of the Philippines showing 13 Regional Subdivisions 8
2 Map of the Philippines showing extent of internal penetration as of 1899 20
3 Growth of Motor Vehicles, 1961-1978 25
4 Growth of Highway Kilometrage, 1910-1977
5 Map of the Philippines showing existing primary roads, major seaports and airports, 197 5 27
6 The J eepney
7 The Tricycle 39
8 Map of the Philippines showing existing urban settlements, 1975 43
9 Population Growth and Projections 44
10 Density Map of the Philippines 45
11 Town Plan as Decreed by King Philip II in 1573 49
12 Transport Agencies and Functions 62
13 BOT Organizational Chart 64
14 Functional Chart Specialized Regulatory Boards 65 v
LIST OF TABLES
Table Title
1 Traffic by Modes as of 1974 29
2 Projected Traffic by Mode, 1980 29
3 Projected Traffic by Mode, 1985 29
4 Highway Development Program Investment Requirement, 1978-1982 30
5 Growth of Applicants 84 vi
COMMON ABBREVIATIONS
LOI Letter of Instructions
PD Presidential Decrees
RA Republic Act
CA Commonwealth Act
PNR Philippine National Railways
MMTC Metro Manila Transport Corporation
PUB Public Utility Bus
PUJ Public Utility Jeepney
AC Auto Calesa
.TH Truck for Hire TX Taxi BOT Board of Transportation
BP Batasang Pambansa (Parliament) CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Situation
The growth of any nation is intimately linked to the develop-
ment and growth of its transportation system. The importance of trans-
port to the maintenance of a sound and strong national economy can
hardly be overemphasized (Haefele, 1969). Indeed, transportation has
often been referred to as 11 the arteries and veins" of the body of any national economy (Yoshpe and Brown, 1961).
The Philippines is no exception. The country with its peculiar geography of 7,100 islands stretching over an archipelago of 1,851 kilometers depends heavily on transport for the maintenance of its
economy. With the government's determined effort to industralize, large investments (see Table 5) are being poured into transport develop- ment to support this process of economic development.
The decades after the Second World War have been characterized by a very high rate of population growth and a large migration' of people from the rural areas to the cities. This is best demonstrated in the case of Metro Manila, which covers only about one per cent of the coun- try's land area but contains 15 per cent of its people. From a popula- tion of about 1.5 million in 1948, it has grown to approximately 7.2 million people today. Transport in and through the city has become a problem of national importance to such an extent that the government policies relating to transport tend to thiru{ that it is the only trans- portation problem deserving attention in the country and that by solving this, all the other problems would be solved. It is obvious that the 2.
vast concentration of people in a small area has put a strain on the
existing institutions and social facilities resulting in many maladjust
ments, social as well as physical. However, the transport situation
and its problems is wider than Metro Manila and this study will concen
trate on the national situation rather than the city's problems.
The situation in Metro Manila as well as in the other major
cities in the Philippines has been aggravated by the lack of government
planning in directing and guiding urban growth until very recent times.
It was not until the 1970's that any kind of comprehensive National
Development Plan was formulated. Now, the government is forced to take
a more active part in the solution of long neglected problems and the
magnitude of the problem in Metro Manila tends to overshadow the prob
lems in the rest of the country. Yet, the efficient movement of goods
and persons in the whole country is of paramount importance to the
government.
1.2 Objectives
Although there are many transport problems in the Philippines
today, pronouncements by responsible government officials (Abellera et
al, 1978) as well as the publications of government transport agencies
(BOT report to the National Assembly, 1978) show a major concern with
the franchise system in the public road transport industry as a critical problem. Although this is a real problem, it can in no way be consi
dered the only one. There are others equally important. Furthermore,
to understand the complex transport situation that have developed over
the years, this thesis argues that it is necessary to consider the historical context of transport development, urban growth and govern ment policies that have influenced transport growth.
To present a fairer and broader picture of the public road 3. transport industry today requires the inclusion of an overview of the
country 1 s colonial history as it relates to transport issues and an insight to the problems created by the increasing urbanization process in the country. This would enable this thesis to trace the origin of the public service laws operative in the country which form the basis for the present public service regulatory system and the foundation of the agencies of government involved in the public road transport indus try today.
The government is convinced of the necessity to search for an economical and efficient road transport system which is because of its increasing demands, may now be beyond the capability of private enter prise. But this is easier said than done. Many problems have to be faced and many factors contribute to these difficulties such as the following: the lack of transport studies in the past that could be used as guides for present and future programs; the scarcity of available literature arid data, and the difficulty in locating it; the difficulty in achieving bureaucratic and institutional changes due to old and antiquated institutions, practices and legislations; and the lack or improper utilization of the limited available local technical skills.
Seen against this background, it is not surprising that the government's efforts have not been entirely successful. An additional problem is that the government, recognising that the private sector could not meet the increasing demands of the public transport, tends to concentrate all its efforts and resources in solving the problems of
Metro Manila without relating them to the overall transport situation.
The creation of a new Ministry of Transportation which was intended to coordinate all government transport programs and decisions have so far failed to achieve its purpose. This is because the present structure 4. still allows considerable and unusual independence of actions to the various transport agencies which are supposed to function under it and this has compounded the old problems such as the overlapping of func tions and therefore added to the problems rather than solve them. The stated government policy is to leave the public transport industry in private hands but it has undertaken steps to build up an ever increasing fleet of government buses. All these tend to indicate a lack of clarity of purpose.
Although there is a concerted government effort to resolve the confusing situation, very little attention is given to the origin of the problems or to the historical factors which have created the situa tion where the problems have developed. This makes for the stop-gap measures rather than for long term policies and solutions. Taking all these factors into consideration, it is hoped that this study has not only achieved its purpose of relating the country's history to the trans port situation today but has also convinced government decision makers to look into history and consider its importance as a source of finding solutions to the present transport problems instead of relying only on high technology and legislation to solve these problems.
1.3 Scope and Limitations
The primary concern of this thesis is to obviate some of the problems mentioned in the preceding paragraphs by collating pertinent historical data and legislations, placing them in a historical perspec tive and seeing them against the background of factual situations pre valent in the country today. The study will concentrate on the histori cal development of the road transport industry. The urbanization process that led to the growth of Metro Manila as the primate city of the country is taken only as it affects the present transport situation. This work s. takes a historical perspective and is therefore largely descriptive.
To collect and gather all the data for this study, a field trip back to the Philippines was made. Fortunately, the various transport agencies have been very helpful in providing the necessary information requested. Results of some government surveys were also made available.
The interviews with responsible government officials and transport operators have been very helpful in gaining an insight to the problems of the private transport operators and government as well. Taking these factors into consideration, it is hoped that this study would be of some value to the Australian who wishes to understand the difficulties of the present transport situation in the Philippines and may be interested to contribute to their solution. To the Filipino government decision maker, it is also hoped that this study has been able to present a better understanding of the historical relatedness of the present transport problems of the country which are necessary for future studies and the formulation of solutions to the transport problems of the country today.
The thesis is organized into two broad parts: the first chapters traces government involvement in transport and the later chapters dis cusses selected transport issues and problems within the context of the history outlined.
Chapter 2 contains general information on the Philippines as to its geography and population. It also traces the political development and the law-making process designed to provide a better understanding on the evolution of laws of the country and a better understanding of the present political situation by which the country is governed.
Chapter 3 traces the development of road transportation from the period of Spanish colonization to the present. It shows the shift in . 6.
the dominance of the different transport modes from water, rail and then road; that this shift to a predominantly road based transport system
took place in a short time and the rapidity contributed to the inability
of the government to cope with the ever increasing demands of road trans portation.
Chapter 4 traces the growth of urban settlements from the pre
Spanish period to the present. This includes the different economic and political P.Olicies of the Spaniards and Americans that contributed to the pattern of dispersion which in turn influenced some of the transport problems of today.
Chapter 5 dwells on the Board of Transportation, the principal government regulatory agency. This includes its organization and functions. The system of franchising public road transport services is also taken up in this chapter. The origins of the present public service law is also traced and the chapter will show that the present public transport regulatory system has been greatly influenced by the
American system which was in use at the turn of the century.
Chapter 6. discusses the selected issues affecting the public road transport industry. It includes the Board of Transportations, its organizational structure, functions and duties. The franchise system and its effects to the overall road transport system is also discussed in this chapter.
The findings of the study and the issues raised in the pre vious chapters are drawn together in Chapter 7. 7·
CHAPTER 2
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
2.1 Background
The name 11 Philippines 11 by which the country is known today, was given in the year 1543 by the famous Spanish adventurer and navi-
gator, Ruy Lopez de Villalobos in honor of Prince Philip of Asturias who later became King Philip II of Spain.
The Republic of the Philippines is an Archipelago composed of
7,100 islands, grouped into three main geographical divisions- Luzon,
Visayas, and Mindanao. Luzon and Mindanao are the two principal islands. The country's approximate total area is 115,707 square miles or 300,000 square kilometers, 98 per cent of which is contained in the
11 largest islands. Only 357 of the islands have areas of 1 square mile or more. The greatest length north to south is 1,851 kilometers and greatest breadth east to west is 1,107 kilometers. The country has a very extensive coastline covering 21,500 statute miles or 34,600 kilometers (Philippine Yearbook, 1977).
1 The Philippines is subdivided into 13 regions consisting of
72 provinces, 61 cities, 1,439 towns or municipalities, and 34,330 barangays or villages (Fig. 1). Current total population is estimated from the 1975 national census to be about 46,500,000. The inhabitants are composed of various ethnic groups speaking 87 different but related dialects, with Pilipino as the national language. English, however,
1 The Region is not a political subdivision. It is only a grouping of several provinces for the purpose of identifying priorities in the government's economic development program. 8. FIGURE 1
I . MAP OF THE PHILIPPINES ,_:r••tr SHOWING 13 REGIONAL •t SUBDIVISIONS • • REGIONAL OffiCES
Rf.GION ....0. f ... ILOCOJ Rt.CION &ICIOIIIIA&. CINTI& - aAM PI&N~OO . L.A. UNlON IEGtON HO. I - CACAYM YALltY ltCION &&GlOMAL CINTI& - TUOWOA.&AO. CAO,•ol' A,. I£G101f f'IIO. J ... CfHTIA.L LUZOif IECtoH aiOtOtlfA&. C llNTII - JA.Jif raaJtAI'IDO. PAWPA.MOA llCJOIIII f'lfO. .. - 'lniOIOUf.V. MAI'tiL.A. AAIA. <GlOIIIIA.L C &NTi:& - W'AMILA 0& QV.'ZOif Crrt I(CIO,. NO.4-A. - SCX'T"itf:ll.N TACALO& llCtoN ... t i.XCLUDIMO MIT&OPQLITAN NAJifiLA Aai:A.J &&GIOH&L CINTI& - IIIK'T&OrGLtTAN IIIA.Nil.A A&IA I(GIOfll NU. J - IICOt. lEGION &&O IOifA.L C IUtTI& - L&GAZf' CtTY .. llCIOfiil N0.6 - WUTlRN Yt.SAY.U ltC ION aeC IOffAL C &.. Tt& - ILOU..O CITY 191'l lf.GJON NO. J - CtHTIUl VlSA YAS 1 £CION &&GlOMAL CltNTI& - C 'K&U CII'Y r., I [ CION NO. I - fASf(IN YlSAYAS l[{i.kJf'lll L[(;[ND <OIO .. A&. C INTtl - TACLOaAN C:nY au;.,.,. zrr-o. t - w ( STt.kN ... .,.OANAO aaOIO MAL C I .. T&& - .IOLO CAITT•t. Or nr. rNIUPPIMU • SL... I((;lOJ'ft-A OTT A.JCOPaOvt.HClA4CAftT.U. w •atCIOf"iiM ,..0Yl .. C1AL CAll TAL. • aV..aiO IOffAI.Ca,Til& - 1AM.0A.N0A CITY CITY lUtON NO. 10 - I'WOIT'Ht.llN .. tNOA.l\140 Q a&CIO"A"' aGUJiiDA&Y &&GIONAL C .NTI& - CAGAYAM DC o•o CITY aVa.a.&OIO .. .U. 80V'MDA&T lf..CIOH-1"'04 II - SUvntE._,. W&NOA!'itAO "$> a&GIONAL C &Nn•. - DAVAO CITY ,..OVUIC1•L MJ""OA&Y a f.C IOf'rt H0. 11 - CDfTilAl. NIN04HA0 0 ' ~,;·. - ~~ :1::-~· • • . ~ · .. , _,!--_..11- · ---.I· --- • ·-• \ __...... -- . ·--- \ ·--- · \. __...... -- · ., ~ 9 '·" ...... -:a, (-._ ...... o#'!' 4. !. - • r •' "'.,... ::.:. ·' II A 0 .. I " • ~ - " source: National Bureau of Census and Statistics, 1977. 9. is spoken by more than one half of the population and the country is sometimes referred to as the third largest English speaking nation in the world. This came about as a result of a public school system intro duced into the country by the Americans at the turn of the century. English was introduced as the medium of instruction. Located about 600 miles off the southeast coast of mainland Asia, the Philippines, with Metropolitan Manila as its national capital, lies at the crossroads of international commerce and travel in the western region. Manila Bay is the biggest and most important port faci lity in the country and is growing in importance as a center of foreign shipping in the Southeast Asian area. Commercial airlines also link the Philippines to the rest of the world. The Philippines' economy is largely agricultural but is now in the process of developing a modest industrial capability. Economic growth has been fairly good and stable during the past years and the outlook is bright for the future. The country is blessed with vast natural resources, both on land and in its territorial waters. It has a fertile soil and a tropical climate. About 30 per cent of the total land area consists of commercial forests which produce lumber, hardwood and other forest products. The mineral wealth includes commercial quantities of gold, silver, chrome, manganese, marble, cobalt, lead, coal, gypsum, petroleum and ceramics. Oil was discovered about 3 years ago and is now supplying 12 to 15 per cent of the energy needs of the country. Geothermal power has also been harnessed and is now providing part of the energy requirement of the country. Principal export pro ducts are timber, minerals, agricultural products such as copra, sugar, rice, bananas and others. Philippine culture traces its roots mainly to its Indo-Malayan 10. origin, with strong Chinese, Spanish and American influences. Chinese, because long before the Spaniards came to the Philippines, there was already an extensive trade and cultural contact between the Chinese and the early Filipinos (Epistola, 1977). The Spaniards were the first Europeans to reach and stay in the Philippines. Except for a brief British occupation of Manila from 1762 to 1764, the Spaniards controlled and colonized the country for more than 300 years bringing with them Christianity which has remained their greatest legacy to the Filipino people. In 1896, the Filipinos revolted against Spain and in June 12, 1898, declared their independence. This was, however, shortlived. As a result of the defeat of Spain in the Spanish-American War, the Phil ippines was ceded to the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1898 and the payment of the sum of $20,000,000. Occupation for the Americans was not, however, easy. It took three years of vicious fighting before American sovereignty could be firmly established in the country in 1901. The Americans were to stay until July 4, 1946 when Independence was finally restored to the country. Since the declaration of Philippine Independence in 1946 up to 1972, the country had a Presidential form of government, with equal powers shared by the Executive, the Legislative and the Judiciary. On September 21, 1972 President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law on all parts of the Philippines. On April 7, 1978, the first national election was held to elect members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa (National Legislative Assembly) as provided for in the 1973 Constitution. 2.2 Xhe Law Making Process Long before the coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines, the early Filipinos lived in organized society under a regime of law and political authority (Aruego, 1963). Local and regional governments 11. were in full operation for the exercise of the three recognized func tions of government - Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The basic unit of government was what was known as barangay or village. This consisted usually of a number of closely related families or households under a single chief or 11 datu11 and this number would vary from thirty to one hundred families or maybe more in some places like Manila, Bohol and Cebu. The chiefs of the barangay governed the people; led his group in war; and was obeyed and revered by the village people. While each barangay and consequently its chief was theoretically independent of all others, the strongest or richest of the chiefs of one village, or perhaps even of a region was usually accorded leadership and was known by the native title of 11 rajahn. Lawmaking was one of the important functions of the chiefs. When the situation called for a new law, the principal chief called into consultation all the other chiefs and explained the need for a law to preserve peace and insure justice to all. If they agreed with him, they usually authorized him to draw up such a law. Thereupon, a public crier went from barangay to barangay and from village to village sound ing a bell and announcing to all the inhabitants the regulations which the head chief had made, and the penalties for disobedience. The laws that existed then were both written and unwritten. The unwritten law was based on customs and traditions handed down from generation to generation. Although the codification of laws was not extensively practiced, there existed two codes of laws promulgated and practiced before the coming of the Spaniards. These were the Maragtas Code written at about 1250 A.D. and the Kalantiaw Code promulgated in 1433 A.D. (Aruego, 1963). 12. 2.2.1 Spanish Period The coming of the Spaniards to the Philippines in 1521 was the result of Europe's desire to open trade routes to the countries of the east such as China, India, Malaya, Indonesia and the Indies. Trade, more than anything else was the most compelling motive which brought the great voyages of discovery. Although Ferdinand Magellan came to the Philippines in 1521, Spanish sovereignty was not successfully established. It took the next 45 years and several costly expeditions before Spanish sovereignty was firmly established by the Spanish Conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. The Spaniards found no central form of government in the country. They, therefore, superimposed on the existing forms of Filipino local government a chain of command lead ing up to the representative of the King of Spain - the Governor General. Starting with the top, the chain ran down through what was called encomiendero or later the alcalde-mayor and his assistants to the governor (gobernadorcillo) of the village or town and finally to the chief of the barangay. Top legislative powers were to some extent retained by the King of Spain, in some respects conferred upon the governor-general advised by the audiencia. The ultimate court of jus tice was the audiencia, but the governor general and the lower provin cial and municipal officials had judicial powers as well as legislative and executive. There was not the rigid separation of these powers under the Spanish system. The governor-general was the head of the colonial government in the Philippines. He was responsible only to the King of Spain for his actions. The power and authority conferred on the governor-general was as great as that given to any official in Spain under the King. He 13. appointed most of the lower government officials throughout the islands; he made local laws with the advice of the audiencia; and he was res ponsible for the entire functioning of the government of the Philippines, subject only to compliance with laws passed in Spain for its colonies and the authority of the King himself. The Spaniards introduced a new system of government and brought to the country.the great system of law which had been developed in Spain from the Roman Law. The colonial government of the Philippines was thus defined and regulated by laws, Royal Decrees, and instructions and ordinances from Spain, sent to its officials in the country. 2.2.2 American Period When the Spanish-American war broke out on April 25, 1898, Commodore George Dewey, the Commander of the American asiatic squadron was directed to proceed to Manila and engage the Spanish fleet there. He did this by destroying the Spanish war vessels anchored in Manila Bay on May 1, 1898. The coming of the Americans were first welcomed by the Filipino revolutionaries. This was because of the active assist ance given by the Americans in procuring arms in Hongkong and shipping them to the Philippines. The Americans were therefore considered as liberators and allies. When additional American troops arrived for the occupation of Manila, however, the Filipino revolutionary army was not allowed to enter the city. This was resented by the Filipinos and was construed as a betrayal of their trust. Although the American forces were con siderably stronger than the Spanish garrison in Manila, without the help of the Filipino revolutionary army, the defeat of the Spaniards by the Americans would have been costly and more difficult. This atmosphere continued for several months both sides waiting for an appropriate 14. moment to start open hostilities. This came on February 1899. An American sentry shot a Filipino officer trying to cross a bridge into American held territory. This started a vicious war which was to last for more than three years and would cost the Americans 4,234 lives and 300,000,000 dollars (Zaide, 1962). Soon after the defeat of the Spanish fleet in the battle of Manila Bay in 1898, President McKinley of the United States issued instructions for the military government of the new territory which had not yet been subdued. The military commander or governor exercised all three powers government - executive, legislative and judicial. When the Filipino-American War was drawing to a close in 1901, the United States government formed what was called the Philippine Com mission as the first step towards a civilian type of government and also to cooperate with the naval and military authorities in Manila in the effective extension of American sovereignty over the archipelago. Although the Commission was formed in 1899, it did not exer cise any legislative functions till 1901 when the first civil governor was inaugurated. It was through the Philippine Commission that the first laws of the land under the Americans were promulgated. It was to remain this way until 1907 when a unicameral law-maldng body was inaugurated. This first Philippine Assembly, constituted entirely by Filipinos, was to exercise legislative authority over all parts of the Philippines not inhabited by Muslims or other non-christian tribes, jointly with the Philippine Commission, the sole legislative body at that time. In 1916, with the passage of what was known as the Philip pine Autonomy Act of 1916 by the U.S. Congress, a bicameral legislature, composed of members elected by the direct vote of the people was 15. 2 created. The legislature was vested with general legislative powers. In spite of all the extensive autonomy granted to the Philippine Assembly the American Governor-General was still appointed by the President of the United States and exercised supreme executive power. The Governor- General in the exercise of his legislative function had also the power to approve or veto bills passed by the law-making body. The Governor- General retained all these powers to the very end of American rule in the Philippines. For almost twenty years, the Filipinos were governed principally under the provisions of the Philippine Autonomy Act of 1916. In 1934, the Congress of the United States passed Public Act 127 commonly known as the Tydings-McDuffie Law. This law authorized the Filipino people to convene a constitutional convention and frame their own constitution. It also provided for a transition period of ten years by which time the Philippine Republic will be declared by said law. When the Commonwealth Government was inaugurated in 1935, the law- making process was again vested in the two houses of the Ph ilippine Assembly. The Senate and the House of Representatives. The position of Governor-General was abolished by this time and the position taken over by a High Commissioner appointed by the President of the United States. Laws passed during the Commonwealth period, were known as Commonwealth Acts. At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1941, the Philippine Government went into exile in the United States. 2.2.3 After Independence When Independence was finally declared in 1946, the Philippines 2The exception to this was that two members of the Senate and nine members of the House of Representatives were to be appointed by the American Governor-General. The Appointees, however, must all come from the non-christian provinces of the Philippines, such as the Mountain Provinces in Northern Luzon and the Muslim Provinces of Mindanao. 16. became a Republic with a Presidential form of government. The legis lative function was vested in the two houses of Congress. Congress had the power to enact and amend laws and laws passed were known as Republic Acts. Under the Presidential system of government, the President had the power to approve and veto bills passed by Congress. It required a two thirds vote of each House to override a veto. The President also issued regulations or directions in the form of executive orders. This power of the President to issue such executive orders was authorized under the 1935 Constitution. Communist insurgency has always been a problem of the govern ment. The Communists or Huks for short emerged from after the war with a considerable mass base and a sizable armed force. They were soon fighting a full-pledged rebellion in Luzon which was not contained until the mid-1950's. Although the back of the rebellion was broken, small skirmishes with the country's armed forces continued. By 1967, a commu nist party self modeled after the Chinese example was organized by university intellectuals. A "New Peoples Army" was soon founded and started countryside ambuscades and urban terrorism. This problem was compounded by the growing threat of a Muslim secessionist movement which started to gain ground in Mindanao. There was now a growing danger of the inability of the government to cope with this situation and there was the downward trend towards anarchy as the leftist and rightist elements in the society competed to manipulate the deteriorating situa tion to their advantage. Toward the end, Manila was the scene of riots, demonstrations, terror-bombings and other violence. The unprecedented heavy floods in Central Luzon in the summer of 1972 compounded popular misery. Gross National Product growth fell from its average 6.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent (The Philippines, 1976). It was against this back ground that President Ferdinand E. Marcos declared Martial Law over the 17. country on September 21, 1972. Upon the proclamation of Martial Law, the Congress of the Philippines was abolished and its functions were assumed by the incum- bent President. The President issued Presidential Decrees and Letters of Instructions which are now part of Philippine Laws. On April 7, 1978, under a program of returning to political normalcy, a national election to choose the members of the Interim Batasang Pambansa (National Legislative Assembly) was held. This step was intended to shift legislative powers back to an elected national assembly. The election was also in compliance with the provisions of the 1971 Constitution which provided for the change of the form of government from Presidential to Parliamentary. The National Legisla- tive Assembly was inaugurated on June 12, 1978. Under the Interim National Assembly, the President is at the same time the Prime Minister and although legislative functions are now vested in the Legislative Assembly, the President can still promulgate Presidential Decrees and issue Letters of Instructions.3 3one would think of the situation as a little unusual. The only explanation to this is that Martial Law, even with the establish ment of a legislative assembly has not yet been lifted. This is because of the prevailing internal security situation particularly in Mindanao which require solutions which would be difficult to implement under ordinary government conditions. 18. CHAPTER 3 ROAD TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT 3.1 Background The development of the transportation network in the Philip pines from the small scattered ports and its gradual internal expansion was greatly influenced by the degree of economic growth and the extent of political and military control by the colonizing countries. This process of spatial diffusion exhibited certain broad patterns and characteristics that are not distinct to the country but have been found to be common in the transport development of many developing countries (Taaffe et al, 1974). The colonial period from 1565 to 1946 could be divided broadly into four phases. The first was from 1565 to 1830. This was the period of scattered trading posts and the attempt by the Spaniards to establish complete political and military control over the whole country. The small trading posts that the Spaniards found were the first to be expanded to support the growing trade, especially the export of sugar, indigo, abaca, copra and sugar with Spain. Internal penetration during this period was virtually non-existent especially in the earlier part of this period. The second phase was from 1830 to 1898. This period was characterized by the attempt of the Spaniards to expand internal pene tration. In the 1830's a highway development program was undertaken. Manila was connected with the outlaying provinces of Luzon through a system of wagon roads and horse trails (Philippine Highways, 1950). By the time the Spaniards left in 1898, an inland transport network con- 19. sisting of roads, footpaths and rail was already in existence (See Figure 2). The extent of internal penetration in the transport system however, left much to be desired. The network was very limited as shown in Figure 2 and their use was restricted by the wet season. To a very large degree, this slow process of internal penetra tion was due to the failure of the Spaniards to exploit the mineral resources of the country and their inability to establish complete poli tical and military control in all parts of the country (The Philippines, 1976 ). The railroad was introduced in the last quarter of the 19th century and lateral interconnections between Manila and the provinces of central Luzon was expanded. The major effort during this period was the expansion of the internal links in the agricultural producing pro vinces to increase production and open new areas for cultivation. The focus was thus centered on Luzon and the provinces in the Visayas such as Negroes, Panay, Bohol, and Cebu. Very little was done to develop Mindanao, Samar, Palawan and the Mountain Provinces in Northern Luzon. The third phase was the period from 1899 to 1946. Most of the wagon roads built by the Spaniards were destroyed as a result of the revolution of 1896. The Americans however, rebuilt and improved these roads. Because military and political control was established in all parts of the country, the Americans were able to undertake a more success ful road building program. The gradual expansion of the railroad to the south of Luzon and the opening of the Mountain Provinces by road in 1905 were significant in that large scale mineral exploitation was undertaken for the first time. Internal accessibility in Mindanao was also improved through a road building program and the government policy of encouraging settlement in the sparsely populated eastern portions of the island. ~·· ·--- -~--- ~- ' -t ·r. ...-r~-.-.- ... rr··- ·-·---··-··-··-··-·- ·- --··-----,-----~ I ' 20. t FIGURE 2 ..... "/) ... ,...... :o·- Map of-the Philippines --L' -·--· ·---:-----+------showing exte~t of Internal Penetration as of 1899 6... ,... taL•••• /} ~- WAGON ROADS rc.o.MINOS CAIIRETE"OS, TRAII.S I"CAMINDS DE HERRADURA") FOOTPATHS I"SENDEROS") - R.llLRO&D I"FERROCAIIRIL"I ' ...... ·· ~~. •d S r: L U S E A ,P'ICJ;.'· . . 0 '··,. <::1--· ! !:'-::-· .1: .· .... ~· . .. ~ .:• ·I '-··-··, .~I ~· ' ... '- i ,.,.:,_.., •• ~ . '· -cP:.:o: (,0 t~--"' •. • • •• • .• I ,u::J (.",. u ~ ~' ~ •. ·- (-+, ~ c ~: L " s c .~ .~ c A . aL. . "' ~.. 1 I . ,.r--.I - ---·- - -·-c -~-:r\~\ ~ ~,-. ---- I ------.-•· I ·- ./-"'IV ... r··------·--·---- !"'.!!!'!""!!!!~.. ~·...... L~~------·--·-~------···-··-··----·-J , -source·= Philippine Highways;-rg-so. -· --·· ·- ·- --·- - -·--·-- · ·· -·· - -- ' 21. The fourth phase started in 1946. The past and present govern ment has continued the program of lateral expansion. This is clearly defined in the country's 1978 5 Year National Economic Development Plan. Because of the emergence of the motor transport as the most important mode of transport, the government has and will continue to develop and improve existing highways and connect the many inaccessible rural areas to main highways to improve accessibility and social intercourse between the urban and rural areas. This program has received considerable assistance from foreign sources, notably Australia which has entered into a bilateral agreement with the government of the Philippines to provide funds for the construction of farm to market roads in the econo mically depressed areas of Zamboanga del Sur and Samar. 3.2 Early Development The pre-Spanish Filipinos depended heavily on watercrafts for transportation both for the movement of people and goods. The early settlements which were mostly located on river banks, lakes and along the sea shore made the boat the most logical mode of transportation. Land movement was very restricted and the development of so many ethno linguistic groupings speaking 87 different dialects explains this lack of contact and the limited social intercourse between the very early Filipinos. The development and growth of land transportation during the Spanish period was slow. This was because of the colonial government's reliance on shipping as the principal mode of transport to support its trade policies. For land transport, the horse which the Spaniards brought from the New World was used. When the colonial government started interior expansion in the 1830's, the horse drawn vehicle was introduced and was to remain the principal mode of land transport 22. between Manila and the outlaying provinces until the last quarter of the 19th century. For passenger services the Calesa, a derivative of the early European Caleche, was used, and for freight, the Caritela, a bigger version of the Calesa, was used. In June 1875, a Royal Decree from the Spanish crown directed that a general plan for a railway system on the island of Luzon be pre pared. It was not until 1886, however, that bids for the concession were invited in Madrid. Only one was received and it was British. A British company eventually got the concession to operate the railroad and the operation was to remain in British hands till 1916. The cornerstone was laid and the building of the line began on July 31, 1887. Eventually, 196 miles of railway tracks connecting Manila and Dagupan in the Northeast of Luzon was completed. Operation started in 1892 and proved to be an instant success. By 1894, the line was carrying 220,000 tons of freight and 800,000 passengers a year (Marshall, 1978). The mobility of the people in Central Luzon increased tremendously and the railway changed the economic life of the region. Manila also started to grow at a much faster rate so that by the time the Americans came, Manila was already a growing city of 233,932 people (Calderon, 1976). The revolution of 1896 and the succeeding war with the Americans in 1899, however, brought financial troubles to the rail road company. In 1896, the Filipino Revolutionary took control of the railroad operation and in 1899, the United States Army took control. -The railway company suffered tremendous losses during this period. After unsuccessfully trying to collect war damage claims from the American government, and incurring a large debt to keep the rail opera tion going, the company eventually sold out to the Philippine government in 1916. It has remained in government hands to this day as part of 23. the Philippine National Railways. The city of Manila, being the seat of government and the most populous community, was the first to have a transport system. In the 1880's the horsedrawn street cars were introduced. This system was operated by a private company called the Campania de los Tranvias de Filipinos under a franchise from the Spanish Crown. For the first time, the Walled City4 was connected with the surrounding suburbs suCh as Malate, Tondo and Sampaloc. Eventually, steampowered locomotives were added connecting Tondo and the adjacent town of Malabon. 3.3 Early American and Pre War Development By 1901, a civil government was already in existence in most parts of the country5 and the task of reconstruction was undertaken. The wagon roads and horse trails that the Spaniards built were rebuilt and upgraded to accommodate the emergence of a new mode of land trans- port - the motor vehicle. Manila was now being connected by road with some of the outlaying provinces in the North and the South of Luzon. By 1905, the first motor car reached Baguio, a mountain resort and mineral rich town 250 kilometers north of Manila. Manila, as it was the case during the Spanish period, was the first municipality to improve its transport system. In 1903, the Municipal Board of Manila granted a franchise to Mr. Charles Swift of 4 Also known as Intramuros. It was the seat of Government during the Spanish period. The city surrounded by thick walls was destroyed during the last war but its walls still stand today. It has become a tourist attraction. 5Mindanao together with some portions of Northern Luzon particu larly in the Mountain Provinces did not have civil governments until much later. 24. Detroit to operate an electric current for light, heat, and power in the city and its suburbs. It also included the right to operate an electric train service. The franchise to operate was good for 50 years and the electric train service was inaugurated in April 11, 1905. The electric streetcar system was so successful that by the end of the year, it com- prised 60 kilometers. Inter-city bus services started operations as early as 1917. As Manila was now linked by road to most of the bigger towns of the Southern and Northern portions of Luzon, road transport started to com- pete with the railways, but the railways remained the dominant mode. These early bus companies started as a single bus operation but eventually grew into big transport companies. Bus services were introduced in Manila in 1.927 to supplement the streetcars. Initially there were 20 buses; by the time the Second World War broke out in 1941 there were 190 units as against 173 streetcars (Nakpil, 1978). 3.4 Post War Developments The post war years saw the sudden emergence of the road trans- port as the dominant mode of public transportation. This could be attri- buted not only to the increasing number of motor vehicles in the Phil- ippines (see Figure 3) and the expansion of its highway system (see Figures 4 and 5) but also to other factors, elaborated upon below. First, the development of the jeepney as a cheap and flexible mode of intermediate public transport facility. Second, is the slow 6 reconstruction of the Philippine National Railway. As a result, the 6 The total railway network is 738 km of mainline and 321 km of branch lines and sidings. It is a single track system and connects Manila with San Fernando, La Union in the Northwest and Sorsogon in the South. This excludes the 1000 km of tracks operated by sugar companies and the 117 km of tracks in the islands of Panay. 25. FIGURE 3 · GROWTH OF MOTOR VEHICLES, 1961-1978 500 Cars 486,389 400 Cll "C l::l cO 300 ::sCll 0 Trucks e:l .273,995 '"d Q) Motorcycles -E .235,756 l::l 200 =E 1 Jeepneys 81,888 Buses 21,234 ~6.~1--~6~3--~6~5~~6~7--~69~~7~1--~7~3--~7~5--~7=7---7~ Source7: Bureau of Land Transportation, 1978. 7 See Appendix ~. 26. FIGURE 4 GROWTH OF HIGHWAY KILOMETRAGE, 1910-1977 120 Total 119,219 110 100 90 Gravel and Earth 80 85,894 (I'J H Q) 70 .j..l sQ) 0 r-i ·r-l ::.::: 60 "0 § (I'J so 5 ~ 0 .-1 4 Paved 30 32,319 20 19100~------~--~--~------30 48 65 67 69 71 73 74 77 Source: Ministry of Public Works, and Ministry of Public Highways, 1978 FIGURE 5 27. Map of the Philippines showing existing Primary Roads, major Seaports and Airports, 1975 LEGEND: Primary Roads ...... ""' Railroad •• Major Airports • Major Seaports ·' Source: Transport and National Development, 1975. 28. share of the road transport sector both in the domestic passenger and cargo traffic has grown to approximately 80 and 45 per cent, respect ively. It is estimated that this will continue into the future (see Tables 1, 2 and 3). Partly because of this and consistent with other government objectives, an ambitious 5 year highway development program (see Table 4) to increase mobility and social intercourse between the urban and rural areas is being pursued. The public road transport industry today is primarily controlled and owned by private companies but the government participates through the buses of the Philippine National Railways and the Metro Manila Transit Corporation established in 1974. Although private ownership of jeepneys and buses for the whole country increased dramatically since 1973, there was a slight decrease in bus ownership in Luzon in 1978. The biggest increase was: registered between 1976 to 1978 as shown in Tables 5 and 6. This was mainly due to the effects of Presidential Decree No. 101 (see Appendix B) which granted amnesty and legalized the operation of many illegal transport operators. This law also author ized the government to grant special and temporary permits for the operation of public road transport services. This shortened the pro cessing and waiting period for the approval or disapproval of applica tions. Of the 1,119,796 motors vehicles of various types registered in 1978 which includes trucks, motorcycles and trailers, 210,211 are public utility or for hire vehi.cles. This is shown in Table 7. Over the years, four of these different road transport services have emerged to be the most important in terms of their contribution to the national economy and transport system. 29. TABLE 1 TRAFFIC BY MODES AS OF 1974 Domest~c Passenger (In Million Units) Cargo MODE Pass-km Per Cent Ton-km Per Cent Highway 20,562 79-4 4,438 43.6 Rail 1,261 4-9 286 2.8 Water 2,462 9.5 5,433 53-4 Air 1,610 6.2 18 0.2 Total . 25,895 100.0 10,175 100.0 Source: Department of Public Works and Communications, 1975· TABLE 2 PROJECTED TRAFFIC BY MODE, 1980 Domestic Traffic Pass-km Per Cent Ton-km Per Cent ~in Million Unitsl Highways 31,440 78.24 7,140 44.0 Railroads 1,710 4.25 360 2.2 Water Transport 3,740 9.30 8,740 53.7 Air Transport 3,290 8.18 23 .1 All Modes 40,180 99.97 16,293 100.0 Source: Department of Public Works and Communications, 1975. TABLE 3 PROJECTED TRAFFIC BY MODE,1985 Domestic Traffic Per Cent Per Cent {in Million Unitsl Pass-km Ton-km Highways 46,000 77.68 11,200 46.46 Railroads 3,050 8.16 970 4.02 Water Transport 5,080 8.88 11,900 49.36 Air Transport 5,085 8.58 39 .16 All Modes 59,215 100.0 24,109 100.0 Source: Department of Public Works and Communications, 1975. 30. TABLE 4 HIGHWAY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM INVESTMENT REQUIREMENT, 1978-1982 (In Million PesosS at 1978 Prices) 5 Year 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 Total Region Grand Total p1,946 ,;2,ooo p2,050 p2,100 p2,250 ?10,346 Region 1 -; 17.5 -; 92.2 p133.1 -; 71.0 ?38.8 ?352.6 Region 2 120.2 81.0 59.0 33.5 42.2 335.9 Region 3 48.6 36.5 35.9 2.0 123.0 Region 4 430.9 436-7 407.5 375.2 383.6 2,033.8 Region 5 52.8 61.1 63.2 66.5 85.4 329.0 Region 6 259.8 177.8 95.0 95.4 177-4 805.4 Region 7 65.1 88.5 148.5 148.5 190.9 641.5 Region 8 6.1 12.9 26.1 55-4 129.7 . 230.2 Region 9 57.1 45.8 66.6 46.0 215.5 Region 10 66.6 69.4 41.5 10.0 10.0 197.5 Region 11 17.3 10.5 10.5 75.5 5.0 118.8 Region 12 86.5 101.5 82.9 25.7 6.5 303.1 Inter Regional 717-5 786.1 880.2 1,095.3 1,180.5 4,659.6 Source: Ministry of Public Highways, 1978. 3.5 The Buses The total number of registered buses in the country as of 1978 was 20,194 units. The buses carry the bulk of inter-urban and inter- regional travel. Inter modal competition between the bus and the rail is limited in places where rail service is available such as the rail line connecting Metro Manila to the Bicol region in the south and La Union and the northeast of Luzon. Even with the availability of rail in some places, the bus still predominates over the rail principally due to its ability to penetrate places that the rail cannot. There is a large utilization of buses in Metro Manila for its city transport system but this case is the exception. There is no other city in the Philippines 8 A$1 is equal to 8 .068 pesos as of January 1980. TABLE 5 REGISTERED PUBLIC UTILITY JEEPNEYS, 1973 - 1978 YEAR P J!;KL:.KN'l' AREA OF TOTAL 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 ( 1978) Region I 3,081 3,806 4,093 4,098 4,128 4,801 6 Region II 857 918 897 1,126 1,735 1,647 2 Region III 3,396 5,217 5,160 5,604 5,888 5,113 7 Region IV-A 20,498 17,386 17,494 18,623 27,931 34,187 47 Region IV-B 691 1,175 766 814 872 777 1 Region V 1,515 1,921 1,717 2,263 2,485 2,896 4 LUZON (Sub-Total) 30,438 30,423 30,127 32,528 43,039 49,421 67 Region VI 4,628 4,949 5,403 5,122 6,455 7,921 11 Region VII 3,801 3,586 3,597 3,683 2~192 5,025 7 Region VIII 753 1,609 996 1,291 2,637 1,248 1 VISAYAS (Sub-Total) 9,182 10,144 9,996 10,096 11,284 14,194 19 Region IX-A 148 141 77 32 32 38 - Region IX-B 636 812 712 683 904 844 1 Region X 1,415 1,625 1,771 1,732 1,967 2,064 3 Region XI 1,999 2,613 2,508 2,503 3,678 5,502 7 Region XII 1,184 1,260 1:,029 1,081 1,475 1,838 3 MINDANAO (Sub-Total) 5,382 6,451 6,097 6,031 8,056 10,286 14 PIITLIPPINES (Total) 45,002 47,018 46,220 48,655 62,379 73,901 100 Source: Bureau of Land Transportation, 1978. TABLE 6 REGISTERED PUBLIC UTILITY BUSES, 1973-1978 YEAR PERCENT AREA 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 Of 1978TO~t Region I 2,202 3,095 3,213 3,137 2,341 2,482 13 Region II 434 457 523 547 577 502 2 Region III 1,587 1,622 l,572 1,533 3,158 3,018 15 Region IV-A 6,048 6,040 6,183 6,689 6,651 6,340 31 Region IV-B 121 161 147 211 498 181 1 Region V 1,205 1,366 1,103 1,232 1,133 1,277 6 LUZON (Sub-Total) 11,599 12,741 12,741 13,349 14,358 13,800 68 Region VI 1,141 658 1,063 737 1,456 1,359 7 Region VII 1,110 1,154 906 843 942 1,652 8 Region VIII 451 374 323 310 306 321 2 VISAYAS (Sub-Total) 2,702 2,186 2,292 1,890 2,704 3,332 17 Region IX-A 39 37 36 20 26 137 1 Region IX-B 458 454 246 139 148 101 1 Region X 752 785 740 966 568 668 3 Region XI 902 1,569 938 921 1,151 1,674 8 Region XII 372 346 347 208 207 482 2 MINDANAO (Sub-Total) 2,253 3,191 2,307 2,254 2,100 3,062 15 PHILIPPINES (Total) 16,822 18,118 17,340 17,493 19,162 20,194 100 Source: Bureau of Land Transportation, 1978. TABLE 7 REGISTERED FOR HIRE VEHICLES,1975-1978 YEAR VEHICLE CLASSIFICATION 1975 1976 1977 1978 FOR HIRE VEHICLES 138,469 158,506 187,969 210,211 CARS 24,448 26,641 26,497 25,192 Taxi (TX) 10,621 13,418 16,302 13,329 Auto-Calesa (AC) 10,681 10,528 6,629 7,271 Public Utility (PU) 2,748 1,822 2,731 3,136 Garage (G) 252 709 760 1,305 Tourist Car ( TC) 146 164 75 151 TRUCKS 76,514 32,505 101,438 113,279 Public Utility Jeepney (PUJ) 46,220 48,655 62,379 73,901 Public Utility Cargo (PUC) 262 2,242 3,256 716 Public Utility Bus (PUB) 17,340 17,493 19,162 20,194 For Hire ( TH) 11,650 12,468 15,857 17,428 Tourist Bus ( TB) 221 267 321 427 School Bus (SB) 57 152 34 830 MOTORCYCLES 36,815 48,535 59,037 70,355 For Hire (MCH) 36,815 48,535 59,037 70,355 TRAILERS 692 827 997 1,385 High-Bed (HHB) 481 670 683 1,223 Low-Bed (HLB) 89 59 166 83 Truck-Trailer (THK) 122 98 148 79 Source: Bureau of Land Transportation, 1978. 34. today that could come close to the size of Metro Manila both in popu- lation and importance as an economic and cultural center. Most of the buses in operation have seating capacities ranging from 16 to 55. These consists mainly of imported truck chassis with locally manufactured bodies. Many of the buses are designed and built to suit the specifications of the transport operators. The aircondi- tioned buses of the Philippine National Railways and the Metro Manila Transport Commission are, however, imported from other countries such as Japan. The bulk of bigger buses with seating capacities from 40 to 55 carry the bulk of long distance passenger traffic mostly from the provinces to Metro Manila and vice versa. The smaller buses often termed locally as "Mini Buses." carry the shorter and medium range passenger traffic. These travels are mainly within a Province or a Region. The "Mini Busestt are also used in Metro Manila. Of the total number of buses plying the country today, 13,800 are concentrated in Luzon or 68 per cent of the total number with the Visayas and Mindanao accounting for 1S and 17 per cent respectively. The demographic pattern of the country9 plus the fact that Luzon has a more developed road network are factors that contribute to this difference. Although Mindanao's road network is gradually being improved, there is still great difficulty in road travel. Recently, however, there has been a substantial increase in the number of buses plying the roads in Mindanao. The Visayas is a little different in that inter-island travel is done mostly by water transport but provincial 9 Luzon accounts for 54 per cent of the national population while the Visayas and Mindanao have 24 and 22 per cent respectively. 35- travel is done by road. The two major Visayan islands of Samar10 and Leyte have now been connected by a bridge and road travel has greatly increased commerce and social intercourse between the two islands. 3 . 6 The .I eepneys ( PU.I ) One of the most popular and certainly the most versatile road transport that has emerged as a result of the destruction of the street- cars and buses during the last war is what is popularly known as the jeepney. It could be said that the jeepney is uniquely and distinctly Filipino and its development through the years has made it one of the backbones of road transport and this intermediate capacity vehicle has made it a very reliable means of transportation. When the people after the war were looking for a substitute to the totally destroyed transport system, the United States Army surplus jeeps and trucks were converted to serve as passenger and freight ser- vice. The tail gates of the jeeps were removed to accommodate 6 to 8 passengers. The trucks were eventually phased out but the jeep stayed on to be improved and developed to what it is today (Fig. 6). The jeepney caters to a vast number of the commuting public in Metro Manila, and throughout the country. It provides a cheap and flexible trans- portation and is the closest thing to the door-to-door service that people want. There are two types of jeepney services in operation. The PUJ is the bigger type and could accommodate 12 to 16 seated passengers. The PUJ operates within a fixed route within a defined territory. Their routes are controlled by franchise as are their number. J eepneys in Metro Manila operate on the same roads as the buses but have been banned 10 Samar is the new site of another major Australian road building aid program. ~. from certain major streets in the city. They also can be chartered and they do carry small freight. FIGURE 6 JEEPNEY In the provinces, jeepneys and buses operate on the same routes. The AC or auto calesa is the smaller type and could take only 8 passengers and operate without a fixed route. The operation must, however, be within a defined area. Their routes and numbers are also controlled by franchise. As far as the route is concerned, the AC is more flexible but this system and practice has lapsed in Metro Manila i n 1974 and the AC now operate in the same manner as the PUJ's. Presently, there are 81,172 AC's and PUJ's in operation throughout the country. The PUJ account for 7 3, 901 while the AC 's number 7,271. There has been steady decline of the AC due to the 37. shift of operators to the bigger PUJ 1 s. Although the jeepney has serve its purpose very well over the years, its operation in Metro Manila has come under very strong criticism. It has been alleged that the large number of jeepney are the chief cause of the traffic ills in Metro Manila and there were serious plans to prohibit jeepney operations in some of the streets of the city. In the provinces, however, the jeep ney continue to be very reliant and efficient transport mode. It does not only cater to the average citizen but also serves as freight ser vice for the small time farmers who bring their produce from the barrios to the market. 3.7 The Taxi Service The taxi industry is limited to a number of cities in the Philippines. With the 13,329 registered units in operation in 1978, Metro Manila accounted for 11,898. Region VII with Cebu as the center, had 449 and Region I had 617 mostly found in Baguio City. Taxi's are registered in specific municipalities and its operation must be within a defined area. Special trips outside specified areas of operation are not entirely prohibited and are allowed in some cases. Since taxi fares are more expensive than the jeepneys and buses, its patronage is limited to the higher income people and to tourists. 3.8 Trucks For Hire Trucks for hire are classified either as common carriers or contract carriers. The former is hired by the general public for haul ing services. This type of carrier accounts for 10 per cent of all the trucking activity in tite country. The contract carrier operate only for those with whom it has a specified contract. 1978 Bureau of Trans portation figures show that there are 17,428 registered units in 38. operation. The figures also show a great disparity in truck distribu tion between the three major island groupings. Luzon has 10,539 with Metro Manila having 6,882. Mindanao has 4,665 with the Visayas account ing for 2,224 units. The large concentration of trucks operating in Metro Manila is understandable considering that it is the center of economic activity and will continue to be such in the future. Most of the large trucking companies offer mixed services to trucking operations including freight forwarding, brokerage, packing, crating, containerization, and cargo handling. In some cases, special ized handling of bulk liquid and containerized cargo are provided. Due to the absence of pipe lines and the limited penetration of the rail road, the trucks have become extremely important in the economic life of the country. The trucks carry large portions of goods, fuel and food to and from the provinces. A disruption of the trucking service therefore, would cause tremendous dislocation to the economic activity of most towns and cities in the country. 3.9 The Tricycle The tricycle, which is actually a motor cycle with a side car has increasingly become an important mode of transport expecially in the rural areas (see Figure 7). It is a cheap and very flexible trans port facility. In the rural areas, the tricycle provides for the transport needs of the barrio people. Since the distances between towns in the Philippines are fairly short, the tricycle is also used for journeys between towns. In the cities outside of Metro Manila, the tricycle is used along side the jeepneys. In Metro Manila, the use is limited to feeder service to jeepney routes and areas not serviced by jeepneys and buses and these are mainly on new housing estates. 39. FIGURE 7 THE TRICYCLE The limited passenger capacity of the tricycle is its main disadvantage. It could only accommodate 2 passengers excluding the driver. This, however, has not prevented its dramatic rise. The number of registered tricycles in operation as of 1978 was 70,355 units. The operation of the tricycle along inter urban highways has come under strong criticism. Since the tricycle competes for road space with buses, cars, and other types of motor vehicles, the slow speed of the tricycle is considered a traffic hazard and has been the cause of road accidents. Unless the government would be able to construct roads spe cially for the tricycle or construct secondary roads to connect the towns apart from the existing national highways, the tricycle will have to continue sharing road space with other motor vehicles. 40. Internal expansion during the Spanish colonial period was a very slow process. It was not until the last quarter of the 19th century that there was an accelerated period of internal expansion. This was mainly due to the railroad which was responsible in opening the areas of Central Luzon for cultivation. The railroad also influenced the expansion of the towns that were found along its line. The conti nued expansion of the railroad by the Americans to the south of Luzon installed the rail as the most important mode of transportation. Its destruction during the war and its slow process of reconstruction after independence however, gave way to the motor vehicle as the principal mode of transport in the country today. The shift from the rail to road was achieved in so short a time that its growth far outpaced the govern ment's ability to cope with the increasing demands of this transport system. 41. CHAPTER 4 GROWTH OF URBAN SETTLEMENTS 4.1 Background Although the country's peculiar geography and the ancient trading routes of the East influenced the founding of the very early settlements, it was Spanish colonization that was responsible for the political consolidation, growth and development of these communities. From the very small primitive nomadic communities that the early Malay settlers founded along the coastal areas and river banks, they grew into large communities with varying degrees of socio-political developments. By the time the Spaniards arrived, settlements with populations as large as 4,000 or more were already in existence in some parts of the country such as Manila, Cebu and Bohol. Although the founding of Cebu predates Spanish colonization, it was the first settlement that the Spaniards developed in the Phil ippines and made it the first seat of colonial government. In the last quarter of the 16th century, the administrative control of the colony was transferred from Cebu to Manila. This was partly because Manila was in a better economic position to support the growing requirements of colonization and the news of gold in Luzon. This move as will be shown later in the chapter would have far reaching effects on the pattern of urban growth that would make Metro Manila the primate city that it is today. The desire of the Spaniards to develop large scale agriculture for the export of agricultural produce led to the expansion and deve lopment of the existing port towns. The Ilocos region in Northern 42. Luzon, the Bicol region in Southern Luzon and the island provinces in the Visayas and Zamboanga in Mindanao were settled and developed. The concentration of the effort of the colonial government in expanding the agricultural capability of the producing areas that they found was mainly because of its desire to make the country economically self sufficient. At that time, government operational expenses was subsidized by Mexico. It was not until 1772 that this subsidy was abolished when the country achieved surplus production. The remaining years of the Spanish colonial period were devoted to increasing agricultural production and the expansion of the coastal towns to support the growing economic activity of the country. Manila continued to grow and expand to become the principal trading port of the country. By the time the Americans arrived in 1898, the patterns of the present population centers in the country have already been developed (See Figure 8). This however, did not prevent them from developing new ones. In contrast to the Spaniards who developed urban centers because of economic necessity, most of the urban centers that developed under the Americans grew as a result of the establishment of military bases in these areas. They are also credited for passing laws encouraging settlement in the sparsely populated areas in Mindanao and the Visayas. The post war years saw the rapid growth of population in the country (See Figure 9 ). The uncontrolled migration to Manila and the over concentration of industries there have reached alarming proportions so that its existing institutions, facilities and social services are strained to the limits. This phenomenom of Manila being the natural destination of FIGURE 8 0 43. Map of the Philippines showing existing urban settlements, 1975 LEGEND: • Urban Centers 0 rfO 0 0~ Source: Ministry of Human Settlements, 1976. 44· migration is not surprising considering that this pattern have long been established during the colonial period. When internal penetration was undertaken in the 19th century it was to connect Manila, which was the seat of government and the dominant trading port, to the outlaying provinces of Luzon. As Figure 10 shows, most of the populated provinces of today were the first to be developed. In Luzon, the densely populated provinces are the ones where the first railroad lines were first estab- lished (see Figure 2). In the Visayas, the agricultural provinces of Negroes, Panay, and Cebu were the first to be developed purely because of their economic potentials. FIGURE 9 In Millions POPULATION GROWTH AND PROJECTIONS 1903-2000 90 83.9 ,It I I 80 I I I I I I I 65.31 I . 70 I ,If I I I I I I . 60 ,I 1 I 49.6/ I I I 50 ...... l ;' ( I I I l 40 I I I l I 30 I ! I I I 20 l I I I I l I I I l I 10 I I I I • Source: Bureau of Census and Statistics, 1975. FIGURE 10 45. 0 Density Map of the Philippines, 1975 LEGEND: 0 2,000 or more persons per sq. lan. 0 200 to 1,999 persons per sq. lan. 100 to 199 persons per sq. lan. SO to 99 persons ~ per sq. km. ~ 49 or less persons ~ per lan. .. . . .A. Source: Bureau of Census and ~-·... Statistics, 1975 • » '! 46. 4.2 Pre-Spanish Settlements Prior to the coming of the Spaniards to the country, a good number of population centers developed in many parts of the country. These communities were found mostly along the coastal areas and the big river deltas of the country. From the Northern most part of Luzon to the Southern most part of the archipelago, communities with populations as large as 4,000 as in the case of the island of Bohol were already in existence (Marcos, 1977). Most of these communities were found in the Western portion of the country. In part, this was because most of the major river systems of the country drain into the South China Sea. Another important reason, however, was the direction of sea crossing trade which was westward to the Asian continent. These pattern of settlement have not changed to the present day as shown in Figure 8. From the north, the estuary of the Rio Grande de Cagayan in the Cagayan Valley attracted the Japanese who attempted to establish a colony before being driven out by the Spaniards. In Central Luzon, Lingayen in the Province of Pangasinan had a large connnuni ty of 4, 000 trading with the Chinese and Japanese. Manila was one of the largest of these settlements (Alip, 1977). Spanish records reveal that when the Spanish leader Martin de Goite accompanied the first expedition to Manila from Cebu in 1568, the found that the place was defended by a fort built on the headland between the Pasig river and the sea. The fort was constructed with coconut trunks and narrow earthen walls and mounted with twelve medium and light pieces of artillery and some small calibre cannon. Manila's size was so large that, when the Spaniards finally captured the place, the soldiers were told not to spread out for fear of being separated from the main group and be captured. Farther to the south in Luzon, Paracale in the Bicol region 47- attracted the Spaniards from Cebu due to its existing gold mining opera- tions. When the Spaniards first landed in Cebu, Pigafetta, the Italian chronicler of Magellan, noted that 11 the house of the chief was large and was made of wood and grass 11 • In Mindanao, the islands of Sulu lie along the trading routes established by China and the Arabs and were therefore a very important settlements. The earlier Filipinos, however, had more rudimentary patterns of existence and these could be grouped into three: the permanent scattered communities of people engaged in swidden agriculture; the impermanent communities of few families engaged in slash and burn agriculture; and the migratory groups engaged in hunting and food gathering. The development of these communities followed lineal patt 11 erns except the Igorots who moved in clusters (Vol. I, Report of Task Force on Human Settlements, 1975). Communities were generally found along the river banks, lakes and coastal areas. The names Tagalog, which was derived from the word Taga-ilog, meaning from the river, Pampanga, Agusan, Baybay and Tausog all denoting water, clearly illus- trate the strong influence of the sea and waterways in the development of the very early Filipino settlements. By the time the Spaniards arrived many of these settlements had already developed into varying degrees of socio-political units so that the Spaniards had to fight hard to subdue and impose their authority on the Filipinos. 4.3 Spanish Settlements Colonization from Spain was the starting point in the history 11 These are the people who inhabit the Mountain Provinces in Northern Luzon. 48· of the consolidation of the present urban centers. When Spain finally established control over the archipelago in 1565, the geography as well as the scattered communities which characterized early Filipino settle ments presented a problem to the Spaniards. The estimated population of half a million was scattered throughout the archipelago. The scarcity of population did not present any real difficulty to the Spaniards in subduing the people but social control was more difficult to establish. The few Spanish missionaries and political administrators found it extremely difficult to accomplish their mission in an area whose popu lation was so widely dispersed and decentralized. To solve these prob lems, the Spaniards resettled the people into compact and nucleated com munities. In 1573, King Philip issued a Royal Decree regarding the structure of towns to be constructed and established in all Spanish colonies and is illustrated in Figure 11. The Decree stated that:- 110n arriving at the locality where the new settlement is to be founded, the plan of the place, with its squares, streets and build ing lots is to be outlined by measuring by cord and rule, beginning at the main square from which streets are to run to the gates and principal roads, leaving sufficient open space so that if the town grows, it can spread in a symmetrical manner • the main plaza is to be in the center of the town and of an oblong shape • • • A comun 12 shall be assigned to each town of adequate size ••• 11 The basic structure pattern can still be seen in many towns in the Philippines today. The Spaniards with this Royal Decree were able to consolidate the scattered villages into compact communities of varying 12 A town plaza. 49- FIGURE 11 Town Plan as Decreed by King Phili p II i n 1573 • • , I o •: o• . -:·· ·:-: .. :-:.: ···.: 0 0 : : · · .... ::~ _; . ~ :·: : :·_.- Re~si:den tial . • ,, 0...... · ... -:_:·-.; · -al.ock •• • 0. .,.* -:~-·: :· .. ·... r •• ~.. . ·:· ·' , .·.:., I .o . ·: . ·. · .. 0·: • . 0., •• • ...... ,ft',•,• 1 •,. ', • 0 • • •·.. , .. . . :...... ·.· ·. ?:::-~ ...... '· ~ ·.: .. :. : ~ .. 0. • . --.:·.·"'·. • •': .:...... : ·... . :" ...... ·. ': . . . · :. : :·:·_.~};- ..·.:: : ..:: ·.. \:' .: :. ?.. :.'· . : . ,_; .·· ...·. .·.. : .·.: : ·.. • •, ·-• ·."·' I\~: . ~ ·.· ..· ·. , . .· · .· ·...... _ ..... · . - . ·.... :· .., .. · ..•:·.-· :.. .'': ·. Source: Vol. 1, 2nd Report, The Task Force of Human Settlements, 1975. sizes from 400 to 5000 people. Although the task of resettlement was not easy, the Royal Decree proved to be the beginning of the establish- ment of Religio-Political centers of the country. The Spaniards have always maintained the principle of bureau- so. cratic centralization in all her colonies. Consequently, Manila was not only the seat of government but also the center of economy, culture, and education. With regard to the Catholic church, the city also became the most important diocese in the country. It is not surprising that Manila was a natural destination for migrants: a pattern which has con- tinued up to the present day. By the middle part of the ~8th century, better methods of farm- ing were developed and new crops for export were introduced. This pro- gram was so successful that large scale agriculture made possible the exportation of products such as sugar, indigo, abaca, tobacco and copra. The main effect on settlement patterns was to expand the port towns in the areas responsible for the production of these crops. Negroes for sugar, the !locos region for tobacco, the Bicol region in Southern Luzon for abaca and the Western provinces of Mindanao for copra. The estab- lishment of tobacco monopoly on 1772 greatly contributed to the abolition of the situado13 from Mexico. This allowed the country to achieve financial self sufficiency. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought accelerated expansion of foreign trade. Manila which was opened to foreign trade in 1843 became the most important port of call in the country (Nakpil, 1971). In 1855, the ports of Iloilo in the Visayas, Sual in Pangasinan, and Zamboanga in Mindanao were opened to foreign trade. This was fol- lowed by the opening of the port of Cebu in 1860. Legaspi and Tacloban were opened in 1873. These port cities remain very important centers and they now form as centers for regional development. 13 This was the subsidy from Mexico which supported the operation of the colonial government. 51. It is unfortunate however, that these lesser ports were opened to foreign trade during the later years of the Spanish colonial period. By this time, Hongkong and Singapore were opened by the British and the Philippines started to lose its premier position as an important trading nation in the Far East. This in turn adversely affected the development of these lesser ports and enhanced the importance of Manila to the whole country (Hardentorp, 1958). 4.4 American Period By the time the Americans came to the country, the population of the country had grown to an estimated 6.5 million people from the estimated 0.5 million in the middle of the 16th century. Aside from continuing the Spanish policy of resettling the population into compacted and nucleated communities, the Americans expanded internal accessibility through the construction of more roads throughout the country. This was possible due to the relatively short period by which the Americans were able to achieve complete political and military control over the whole country. The railroad was at this time also extended to connect Manila with the Bicol region. The coming of the Americans saw the introduction of a completely different political and economic system. They intro duced a representative form of government and encouraged free enterprise as the new basis of economic order. This would have far reaching effects in the transport development of the country in that the free enterprise system introduced by the Americans would become the basis of the present transport institutions and regulatory system still in use at present. In addition, several legislations were passed during this period encouraging migration and settlement in the sparsely populated island of Mindanao. Cagayan de Oro and Davao started to grow as a result of these laws and the fertile area in the province of Bukidnon was opened 52. to agricultural production. This period also saw the growth of commu- nities where the present American Bases are located: Olongapo grew on account of the Subic Naval Base in Zambales; Angeles as a result of Clark Air Force Base in Pampanga; and Cavite City as a result of the Sangley Naval14 repair facility. The Americans made some improvements to the old town plan of 1573. D.H. Burnham, an architect came to the country and directed the drawing of plans for the improvement of the bigger towns of -the country such as Manila. In his plan for Manila, he envisioned the following: The development of the waterfront and the location of parks and park- ways so as to give proper means of recreation to every quarter of the city; the street system should secure the direct and easy communication from every part of the city to other parts; location of building sites for various activities; and the development of waterways for transporta- tion (Vol. 1, Integrated Reports, Task Force on Human Settlements, 1975). In 1909, Manila and Baguio became chartered cities and remained the only two cities until 1936 when 26 more ncities 11 were added. There are now 61 cities. Many of these cities, however, with the exception of Manila, Cebu, Baguio, Bacolod, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, and Dagupan could hardly be characterized as cities in the way it is generally understood. Many of these cities were chartered for various reasons such as politics and perhaps for more centralized government control. 4.5 Present Trends The country after the Second World War experience a population 14This military facility was turned over to the Philippine government in 1971. 53. growth rate of 3.2 per cent a year. From a population of 18 million in 1948, it has grown to approximately 46.5 million in 1979 (see Figure 9). At the same time, while the population was growing at a very alarming rate, the economy was registering a low average growth rate. Clearly, the economic growth was not enough to sustain and provide the basic social facilities to support the tremendous growth in people. Partly due to past colonial policies and the absence of a national plan to control and regulate urban growth, Metro Manila today is the classic Asian primate city. There is no other city in the country today that could come close to it both in size and influence for the country as a whole. It is the political, educational, economic, and cultural center of the country (Nakpil, 1977). The city is the base of all institutions whether private or government. Of the national popu- lation of 46.5 million, 7.2 are living in the city, 65 per cent of the country's industrial plants are located in the Metro Manila region. To the rural people, the City has become a place where they could improve their fortune and seek better employment opportunities. Migration from the rural areas became so great that there was a yearly inflow of 250,00015 people congesting and straining the available social and phy- sical services of the city. This huge number of unregulated migration to urban centers is slowly changing the spatial configuration of exist- ing settlements (Vol. 1, The Integrated Reports, 1975). This process has resulted in the over concentration of people and activities in a single urban center while the rest of the country remains largely under- developed. The urban problems that have developed in the Philippines 15Recent estimates of the Ministry of Human Settlements put the figure down to 180,000. 54. over the years are not unique but are common to most developing countries. These social problems are characterized by high population growth rate, high unemployment and underemployment, deficient social facilities and unplanned urban g~owth. In the Philippines the growth of these problems to its present state is deeply rooted in the country's colonial history and political institutions. The bureaucratic centralization practiced by Spain has not changed much to the present time. Although the government in 1972 started a program of administrative decentralization, the task has been difficult and not entirely successful. The system of local governments introduced and developed under the Americans has not undergone any meaningful changes to make it more responsive to the growing problems of urban growth. Chartered cities are independent and therefore plan their own developments without the benefit of coordination with the provincial governments. In like manner, provincial governments have their own development plans independent of each other. There was a total absence of a national effort to guide and direct development goals. The present Metro Manila for instance had 4 chartered cities and 13 municipalities before their integration in 1974 into a Metropolitan Commission. By the early part of the 1970's the problems had become so acute that sheer necessity forced the national government to develop comprehensive plan for the future growth of cities and their physical improvement. The major effort of the government has naturally been centered on Metro Manila. This is understandable considering the per vasive influence of the city to the whole country. On September 19, 1973, the President by virtue of Executive Order No. 416 created the Task Force on Human Settlements. The mission of this Task Force was to formulate a national plan which would serve as 55. a general scheme of development for the country. This included a Metro Manila development plan and a national housing plan. The Task Force consisted of 17 government agencies headed by the President of the Development Academy of the Philippines. The result of the work was a comprehensive 11 volume National Development Plan. The final report consisted of a 2 volume Summary of Recommendations of 4 volume report of the various framework plans and programs with a 8 volume supplementary material have been printed. Essentially, the present national government effort is directed 1. The redistribution of population by changing the present migration patterns by establishing and designating regional growth centers to absorb populations and made demographic distribution more even and not concentrated in only one urban center. 2. The dispersions of the industrial plants located in the Metro Manila region to other designated growth area to provide employment opportunities in places other than Metro Manila. 3. Future planning of the growth and development of Metro Manila and the improvement of the physical structure of the city. 4. The development of a national housing plan to improve the acute problem of deficient housing facilities to all. 16For a more detailed information, See Vols. 1 to 4 of the Integrated Reports of the Task Force on Human Settlements; September 1975. ~. This chapter showed the growth pattern of urban centers during the Spanish and American colonial period. During the Spanish period the urban growth was really centered on the growth of Manila. This was because of the closure of the whole country to foreign trade. This retarded the growth of the lesser ports leaving Manila to dominate over them. When internal expansion was undertaken, the effort was to connect Manila which was already the seat of government, to the rest of the country. It could be said that the whole period of Spanish colonization was characterized by the growth of one city. The coming of the Americans did not change this pattern. Although the Americans introduced a system of local governments and encouraged migration to the sparsely populated provinces of Mindanao, Manila remained the seat of government and continued to grow and expand. The powers of the local governments·were limited leaving most of the government decision making in the hands of the central government in Manila. The coming of the Americans however, changed the whole politi cal and economic system of the country. They introduced a representative form of government and the economic system of free enterprise replaced the old one which was largely controlled by the government and the religious orders. The introduction of the free enterprise system would have far reaching effects in the development of public service institutions, practices and laws that are still in use in the country today. 57· CHAPTER 5 TRANSPORT AGENCIES AND REGULATIONS 5.1 Present Situation Today 1 s general objectives regarding the country's road trans port industry have been clearly defined and set forth recently in the government's 5-year National Economic Development Plans. These goals and objectives are to increase the efficiency of the available resources of the road transport industry and increase its carrier capacities which are all intended to sustain the growth of traditional urban and production centers to the extent defined in the overall sectoral and regional development strategies. "Priority is directed to the provision of improving the basic transport services in new growth centers and depressed areas with rich development potentials. Transport investment and other related programs will henceforth be initiated in less privileged areas to reduce dispari ties of income and other social inequities. Physical improvement of highways facilities have also been programmed to be constructed and built. Farm-to-market roads which will eventually be connected to existing highways are now being constructed to increase rural mobility" (5-year National Economic Development Plan 1978-82, 1977). The present level of government participation in the road trans port industry as an operator is not extensive as in many other coun tries. This is because the Philippines has traditionally relied on free competition in the road transport sector and this has naturally resulted in extensive private ownership. Since the government is also an operator, it is faced with the same problems and decisions as all transport 58. operators. As an administrator, it defines, and limits the nature of transport operations. This takes the form of determining the number of firms and the extent of competition including fares, routes and capaci ties of companies to operate. These web of controls have been designed to circumscribe the freedom of operators in the public interest. The development of these controls has also exercised considerable influence on the growth of the present system of road transport. The country has always adopted a direct and pragmatic approach in regulating and administering the transport industry. The growth and development of the different modes of transport consequently resulted in the passage of different and separate laws that set the legal frame work for the administration of each mode as distinct entities. For example, there is the Civil Aeronautics Administration created by Republic Act 776, The Maritime Industry Authority established under Presidential Decree No. 474, the Board of Transportation created under Presidential Decree No. 1, the Philippine National Railways under Republic Act 4156, and the Metro Manila Transit Corporation under Presidential Decree 860. In many respects, this modal approach just outlined above worked very well, but it had at least one major deficiency. It failed to recognize the necessity of developing a comprehensive national transport policy. The first prerequisite to the development of such a policy is a recognition of the transport sector as a single entity. When this is recognized, the need for a coordinated approach to admi nistration, policy, and planning in the transport industry would follow logically. The Ministry of Transport and Communications was created in 1979 to fill this need. With its establishment, it took over the 59. administrative and operational control of some of the existing trans port agencies as shown in Figure 12. The Ministry was also given the responsibility for administering the use and development of the trans port system as a whole. This involved policies which influence the interaction between the various modes as well as policies which apply across all modes. As Figure 12 shows however, the various transport agencies still maintain considerable autonomy of actions and are there fore still empowered to formulate their own short term goals and plans for maintaining, improving or establishing new links or services. Under this situation, the purpose for which the new Ministry was established has not been entirely successful. 5.2 Public Service Regulations The regulations governing the extent and character of activity in the public road transport industry is basically anchored on the Public Service Law of 1936 otherwise known as Commonwealth Act No. 146. This Act included the supervision, administration and licensing or fran t chising of other public utilities such as electric lights and power service, ice plants, telephone services, waterworks, cold storages, and other related utilities. The regulation of public service did not start with the enact ment of CA 146 in 1936. It started much earlier. When the first horsedrawn streetcars were introduced in Manila in the 1880's, the extent of its operation was defined in the Royal grant given by the King of Spain to the concessionaire or operator. This was also true in the case of the first railroad company which started operation in 1892. The franchise for the operation of a public transport system during this period was therefore dependent on what was decreed or granted by the Spanish Crown to the operator. 60. When the Americans took over the country in 1898, they intra- duced a transport regulatory system based on the economic doctrine of free enterprise. The transport systems in the United States during this period was developed largely through private initiative with the govern- ment providing the legal framework and seeing to it that enacted rules were not violated. It was this system that was implanted in the Phil- ippines. When the Filipino-American War was drawing to a close in 1901 and civil government was eventually established, the Philippine Com- mission started transport regulation with the passage of Act 520 creat- ing the Coastwise Rate Commission regulating water transport in the country in 1902. This was followed by the supervising Railway Expert t Office in 1906 through Act 1507 and the Board Rate Regulation in 1907 by Act 2707. These laws were the forerunners of the first comprehensive set of public service laws introduced in 1914 with the passage of Act 2307. This law was patterned after the practice in use in the United States particularly in the State of New Jersey (Almario, 1977). Act I 2307 created the Board of Public Utility Commissioners which is the direct descendant of the present Board of Transportation. f The laws underwent a series of revisions and amendments. In 1933, Act 4042 elevated the members of the commission to the equivalent I rank of judges of the courts of first instance17 to be appointed by the Secretary of Justice. The commission remained under the Department of • Justice until its abolition in 1972. The passage of CA 146 in 1936 ~ I created the Public Service Commission which remained to be the govern- ment regulatory body until its replacement by the Board of Transportation 17 The judicial system in the Philippines is organized into: The Municipal Courts, Courts of First Instance, Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. 61. in 1972. The Board is now under the Ministry of Transport and Communi- cation. 5-3 Transport Agencies There are presently various government Ministries, authorities and corporations that are directly or indirectly involved in the regu- lation, administration and operation of public road transportation. Some of the more important agencies together with their functions are shown in Figure 12. These agencies have been created under different laws and con- sequently act and operate under the legal framework of these legisla- ' tions. It is not therefore unusual that these agencies act indepen- dently of each other. Problems which are not clearly defined are solved rI by coordination between these agencies. This arrangement however, has proved unsuccessful in many instances. Overlapping of functions are r very common and conflicting and duplicating of functions often make government programs difficult to pursue. Figure 12 shows and illustrates ' these. These laws hav~ developed over the years, being added to or amended as the need has arisen. This evolution of legislation will undoubtedly continue into the future. The major legislations related to road transport operation is summarized in Appendix C. 5.4 The Board of Transportation The Board of Transportation is the principal government agency charged to regulate and administer public road transport. This agency was created under Presidential Decree No. 1 of September 1972 replacing the Public Service Commission which was created under Commonwealth Act No. 146. Both PD 101 and CA 146 enumerates and defines the quasi judicial and administrative functions of the Board of Transportation. PD 101 was enacted to give added flexibility to the Board in solving existing and future transport problems. The intention of the government was for the Board to be more responsive in meeting the new problems in the road transport industry such as illegal operation and the increasing transport demand for more carriers especially in Metro Manila. The Board of Transportation is one among the 3 Specialized Regulatory Boards established under the reorganization plan of the exe cutive branch of the government under PD No. 1. This organization is shown in Figure 13. The 3 Boards share the services of the same staff and personnel. The different functions of the Specialized Regulatory Boards are illustrated in Figure 14. Prior to 1972, the Board of Transporta tion had its own law enforcement unit which had the function of enforcing the provisions of the Public Service Law and regulations promulgated by the Board. This function of the Board was abolished in 1972. Hence forth, the bulk of the law enforcement activities was done by the regu lar law enforcement agencies particularly the Constabulary Highway Patrol Group. What the Board does at present is coordinate with the Highway Patrol for the enforcement of its regulations. 5.5 Functions of the Board of Transportation The Board has the following important functions: 1. Issue Certificates of Public convenience. 2. Establish, prescribe and regulate routes and areas of of operation of public road utilities. 3. Determine, fix and prescribe fares, charges and rates FIGURE 13 BOT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Board of Communications Board of Transportation Board of Power Chairman Chairman Chairman Members Members Members I I I IExecutive Directorl I ( Staff Assessment Staff Secretarial Staff Administr~tive Budget Cashiering Assessment Billing Receiving and mailing calendar and hear1ng docket AccounPersonnte~~ 1n..,. General Services J I I Standards Meter Research, Statistics Finance and Rate & Legal Division Laboratory and Analysis Division Records Division Division Research and Statistics Transportation Section Finance and Accounting Utilities Standard Section Regulations Section Section Communication Section Records Section Rate Regulation Section Transportation Section ,~.,.,F:"t"1-e..,...,..Ld.....:O~Jf='f:1rc~e--s~.,J J Region II Meter Laboratory Section Region VI I Region VII J Region VIII I Region IX Region' X Source: Board of Transportation, 1978. ' FIGURE 14 FUNCTIONAL CHART SPECIALIZED REGULATORY BOARDS __. --- ~- ...... l---- _ ___ ------I Chairman; Board Chairman; Board Chairman; Board Military of Communications of Transportation of Power and Supervisor MEMBERS Waterworks MEMBERS MEMBERS I LAND DIV,WATER DIV I l I Regulates and controls Regulates and controls Regulates and controls I Public Utility Communication Publtc Utility Transport Public Utility Power and l sernces I l services or systems Waterworks services or I systems l Executive Director I Asst. Executive Director Transportation I Law Enforcement Supervises the technical staff of the Boards; Unit provides secretarial, legal and other services Enforces the Public Service relating to personnel, budgeting, accounting, Law; orders and rules and assessment, collection, disbursements, supplies, regulations of the Board equipment, security, general utility and custodial of Transportation . work . I I ~ecords & Analysis Finance & Rate Standard & Meter Division Division Laboratory Div. Keeps and safeguards records Responsible for staff work Responsible for setting standards of cases and other documents necessary to determine finan on equipment and installments, on filed with the Boards; and cial condition and capabilities the efficiency of the operation compiles and analyzes statis of applicants for certificates and on the safety of public utili tical data regarding public of public convenience amend ties; and operates and maintains utilities. ments thereto and permits for the standardizing meter laboratory. rates to be charged by public utilities. Source: Board of Transportation, 1978. Legend: ---- Coordinating agency 66. pertinent to the operation of public facilities and services. 4. Establish, fix, prescribe and enforce rules and regula tions standards and specifications in all cases related to certificate of public convenience. 5. Promulgate rules and regulations for the promotion of safety in public transport utilities. 6. Investigate any complaint regarding the operation of a public service vehicle and violation of any provisions of the Public Service Law and BOT rules and regulations. 7. Issue special permits in some cases for the operation of vehicles outside their defined routes upon payment of a regular fee. The franchise function of the Board is not delegated and is the function of the Chairman and the members of the Board. This ip.cludes the determination of fares and the promulgation of rules and regulations as specified under CA 146 (Sec. 11 Chapter 1 CA 146). 5.6 The Franchise System Today, the franchising of public service vehicles is exclusively the duty of the Board of Transportation. Prior to 1936, this function was also performed by local governments. This practice presented no problems at that time since the bulk of land transport requirements were serviced by the railroad both in the urban n~twork (Manila) and the long distance routes. Road transport was only supplementary to the rail. There was very little government regulation and control in the road transport industry. With the enactment of the Public Service Act of 1936, it became obligatory to obtain several authorizations before any road freight or passenger service could be operated. CA 146 provides that IINo public service shall operate in the Philippines without possess ing a valid and subsisting certificate of public convenience to the effect that the operation of said service and the authorization to do business will promote the public interest in a proper and suitable manner 11 • This provision of law was also aimed at preventing public transport services engaging in ruinous competition. This was a control mechanism. The Act further provides that transportation must be easy, safe and above all, cheap. Various steps must be accomplished by an applicant prior to the issuance of a franchise to operate a road transport service. All applications must contain the following: 1. The number of units ready for operation and the maximum number of units applied for. 2. Proof of financial capacity of applicant. 3. Proof of Filipino citizenship of the applicant or certi fication to the effect that the operation is at least 60 per cent Filipino owned. 4. A statement of willingness by the applicant to abide by the provisions of the Public Service Law and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Board of Transportation. 5. Payment of application and other fees. As soon as the application is received and calendared for hear ing, the Board decides on the merits of the application in a combina tion of quasi-judicial and administrative processes (Sec. 2 PD 101). If the decision of the Board is to approve an application, the trans port units must then be registered with the Bureau of Land Transporta tion as public utility vehicles within 30 days of the Board's approval. 68. The franchise to operate such transport units is valid for a definite number of years. This could vary from 4 years to 15 years. Upon expi ration of the franchise, the operator must stop the operation unless his franchise is extended. Within the life span of the franchise the owner operator is not prohibited from selling his franchise to an interested party. During the hearings, the oppositors are allowed to present their objections why the application should not be approved. Most of these oppositors are usually operators in the routes being applied for and are therefore the prospective competitors. The appli cant has the opportunity during the hearing to present more documents to support his applications such as certificates of availability from local officials and petitions from local residents. Obviously, the applicant will apply to. operate the most profit able route and the Board of Transportation has no power under the law to compel the applicant to change the route being applied for. The best thing that the Board could do is to disapprove his application on the particular route being applied for. To go around this, an applicant could reapply for another route which could also be profitable. There is therefire a built in constraint on the part of the Board in allocating routes (Abellera, 1978). Routes are dictated by profit not by necessity. The Board is unable to do anything at the present since the government has no capacity to field transport units wherever there is lack of carriers. This explains the overcrowding of carriers in many routes and the lack of it in others. The solution to this would be for the government to field government buses and jeepneys but the government could not do this due to its limited capability. Most of the govern ment owned buses are operating in Metro Manila and the buses of the Philippine National Railway are not sufficient in number to meet all the demands in the provinces. The public service regulatory system in use in the country today developed from the system introduced by the Americans when they first came to the Philippines in 1898. This was based on the economic system of free enterprise. Government participation was therefore limited and at the turn of the 20th century, the free enterprise was very much freer than it is today (Papandreou, 1954). There w·ere less government controls and restrictions. Transport demands, however, grow and while the Americans were able to see the need of increased govern ment participation and the need of revising their transport lalvs and creating more responsive transport agencies, the Philippines continued to rely on the same laws and concepts that were used at the turn of the century. Commonwealth Act No. 146, which is the principal public ser vice law of the country has not undergone any major revision since it was enacted in 1936. The law still provides the legal framework in which the Board of Transportation act. In 1979, the government created a new ministry of Transport and Communications purposely to integrate all government efforts with regards to transport planning, policies and programs. The various existing transport agencies however, still maintain their autonomy because the laws which created them have not yet been repealed or revised. The government will have to rationalize the relationship between the new Ministry and the existing transport agencies so that the purpose by which the Ministry was created will be realized. 70. CHAPTER 6 DISCUSSION OF TRANSPORT ISSUES 6.1 Background Today's road transport problems is not only the result of the inability of the government to evolve indigenous solutions suited to the complex and unique conditions of the country but also to its inability to dismantle old colonial institutions that are no longer relevant in todays development process. This chapter will examine some of the prevailing road transport issues. Before proceeding however, it would be helpful to summarize briefly the important facets of Spanish and American colonization that have greatly influenced todays transport problems. These are the follow ing: 1. The economic policies of the Spanish colonial government. One of the first steps that the Spaniards did was to consolidate their control over the existing coastal trading ports that they found. When the agricultural economy was developed and surplus production achieved, the government controlled trade. The ports were also closed to foreign trade. This led to the dominance of Manila over the other port commu nities in the Visayas and Southern Luzon. The country was eventually opened to foreign trade in the middle part of the 19th century and this led to the opening of the lesser ports. Although this led to a much faster development rate, Manila's position as the principal trading port of the country was never seriously challenged. It was already firmly established. While Manila's economic influence over the country was growing 71. at this time, its importance to the existing world trade was slowly diminishing. This was due to the opening of Hong Kong and Singapore by the British because of the refusal of the Spanish government to open the country to foreign trade (Hardentorp, 1958). This had far reaching effect in the development of the country as a whole. 2. The 19th century saw a serious attempt by the colonial government to expand inward. Up till this time, the effort was mainly concentrated in developing the coastal trading ports. By 1830 a road construction program in Luzon was started. Manila was eventually con nected with the outlaying provinces. Internal travel was likewise greatly enhanced by the opening of the railroad connecting Manila with Dagupan in the northwest of Luzon. This opened the vast areas of central Luzon for agricultural production. Communities along the railway line expanded more rapidly. The importance of Manila to the whole country was further enhanced. The producing areas in the Visayas were also expanded inward. The Spaniards however, were greatly hampered in their programs due to their inability to establish complete political and military control over the whole country (The Philippines, 1976). This also prevented the Spaniards to go into large scale mineral exploitation. Although a system of wagon roads, horse trails and footpaths were already in existence when the Spaniards left in 1898 (see Figure 5). Mindanao, Samar and Palawan remained largely underdeveloped. 3. The American period of colonization lasted for 48 years. During this time many of the old Spanish institutions were dismantled and new ones introduced. A new political system was implanted and the economic system of free enterprise took over from the economy that hitherto, had been controlled by the government and the religious orders (Zafra, 1978). 72. In the public transport industry free competition was encour aged. This meant that the capital cost in the development of public transport was largely in the hands of private operators. This has remained to be the basic government attitude with regards to the public road transport industry. Based on the system of free enterprise, con trol and regulation of transport was introduced patterned after the method then prevailing in the United States, particularly that of the state of New Jersey (Almario, 1977). This was when the Board of Public Utility Commissioners was created through the passage of Act No. 2307. This Act unden;rent a series of amendments until 1936 when the Public Service Law of 1936 or Commonwealth Act No. 146 was enacted. This law is still the principal law which governs the operation of public service utilities. 4. The Americans were able to establish complete political and military control over the whole country in the early period of their colonization. This made the job of reconstruction easier. The road building program which the Spaniards started was continued. Roads were upgraded to accommodate the motor vehicle which was introduced at the turn of the century. Interior expansion was undertaken at a much faster rate. This was due to the desire to exploit the mineral resources of the country. The railroad was extended to the southern provinces of Luzon. Manila was maintained as the seat of government and the princi pal trading port. Its continued growth was therefore, assured. The other areas such as Mindanao, Samar and Palawan were now opened to agriculture and settlement. The passage of Commonwealth Act No. 441 encouraged migration to the scarcely populated eastern portion of Mindanao. By the time the Americans granted independence in 1946, the road system that they inherited from the Spaniards was greatly 73. improved (see Figure 4). 6. The Second World War disrupted what would have been a peaceful transition to independence. Of all the countries in Asia that were occupied by the Japanese, no country suffered more than the Phil ippines: Manila was virtually destroyed (Manchester, 1978). Against this picture of destruction independence was granted to the country on July 4, 1946. A difficult period of reconstruction commenced. The country w·as facing a serious threat from the communist uprising in the country side and the country was struggling to survive. Agriculture which was the chief source of revenue and the rebuilding of Manila, received the focus of government attention. Because of this, migration to Manila started to accelerate. Notwithstanding the so-called ~~al orientation of the Filipinos, they started to migrate to the urban centers. The inability of the government to evolve indigenous solutions suited to cope with the rapid urbanization process of the country made the problems what they are today. 7. The decades after the War also saw the introduction of new means of transportation. These are the jeepneys and the motorized tricycles. Road transport emerged as the dominant mode of transport. This necessitated the expansion of the road network to expand internal accessibility. Highway construction therefore received much attention from the government. In public road transport, the government has con tinued to rely on private investment in its development. With some amendments, the Public Service Law of 1936 has continued to be the basis of control and regulation of public road utilities. 8. The country experienced tremendous changes during the early 1970's. Politically, a crises government was declared which is still enforced today. Economically, tremendous efforts to industrialize have been pursued by the government. This clearly indicated that some of 74· the concepts and attitudes of the government with respect to transport would have to be reassessed. The government made a major move by pur- chasing the Philippine Airlines and declared a one airline policy. This was a sharp departure from the policy of the enterprise which has always been practiced in the past. This made the Rail and Air both government owned and operated. It is only in the road transport sector that very little substantial change have occurred. Instead of clearing some of the issues that complicates the industry, many of the problems remain unsolved. It is this area that this chapter intends to examine some of the important issues. 6.2 The Board of Transportation Pursuant to PD No. 1, dated September 23, 1972, the Executive Branch of the national government was reorganized. The Board of Trans- portation was created to replace the abolished Public Service Commission. This new office was then made part of the Specialized Regulatory Boards (see Figure 11). In this particular organizational set-up, the Board of Transportation shares the same staff and personnel with the other Boards. This has created administrative difficulty and has undermined the independence of the three Boards (BOT repor~ to Batasang Pambansa, 1979). As shown in Figure 13, the Board of Transportation has a very centralized bureaucracy. The Board does not have the equivalent regional offices that could perform similar functions in places outside Metro 18 Manila. The so-called regional field offices that have so far been created only perform limited functions such as collecting required fees 18 The Board of Transportation, on March 10, 1980 closed down 9 of its Regional Offices and retained only 2. 75. and to some extent the investigation of minor local complaints. There is a stated government policy of administrative decentralization of national offices to regional levels. One reason for this is that people will not have to make the trip to Manila which is often expensive and difficult to transact business. Instead, these offices will be region- alized so that ttthe government could be brought closer to the peoplett. The Board of Transportation however, has been very slow on this. There are no separate offices to handle the enormous problems of Metro Manila and those of the provinces. Everything must be decided by the central office. For instance, the volume of applications for the operation of public transport have increased greatly over the last 4 years (see Table 5), even with the issuing of special permits for operation as con- templated by PD 101, the volume has taken its toll on the administrative capability of the Board of Transportation. The abnormal increase in applications has simply outpaced the administrative capability of the 1 Board (Abellera, 1979) ? This situation has also forced the chairman and members of the Board to spend most of their time hearing petitions, applications for fare increases and complaints so that management, supervision and the policy-making functions have been sacrificed and neglected. Over the years, the transport problems in the country have become more complex as economic development is pursued by the govern- ment. Urbanization and the increase of motorization have made transport patterns and characteristics in urban areas such as Metro Manila and the provinces vastly different. While tremendous changes have been 19 The BOT in the middle part of 1979 was forced to suspend the issuance of special permits for operations of road transport utilities until such time that the huge backlog could be lessened. 76. happening in Metro Manila, travel patterns and characteristics in the rural areas have not changed very greatly. Since the Public Service Law was enacted in 1936 the transport requirements have certainly become more demanding, it takes more than just a centralized quasi-judicial body to regulate and supervise the operation of public road transport utilities. The organizational hierarchy of the Board of Transportation has become unresponsive to the ever growing complexities of transporta tion especially in a country with a developing economy which is charac terized by high underemployment, high population growth, expanding economy and rapid urbanization. 6.3 The Absence of a Transport Policy Because of the pragmatic approach of the government in approach ing the early transport problems, various and, often, independent, transport agencies or bodies were established. This meant that the majority of government decisions pertaining to specific modes were the responsibilities and concerns of the appropriate agencies. Problems which are not specifically within the domain of any one agency were dealt with by the coordination of these agencies. Most often, this is done by the creation of Ad Hoc bodies that will deal with any problems that will arise. To a certain degree, this structure just outlined, worked quite well especially during the 1950's and 1960's. In the 1970's, however, its deficiencies have become readily apparent. The major deficiency is of course its failure to promote the development of a comprehensive national transport policy. The separate agencies created resulted in the overlapping of functions and the pinpointing of responsibilities has often been confusing (see Figure 12). Although the Board of Transportation is the principal regulatory body of the government with regards to public road transportation, there 77. are various government authorities and corporations performing functions related directly or indirectly with transportation. So far, the govern ment has failed to recognize that one of the more important prerequi sites to the formulation of a comprehensive national transport policy is to recognize transportation as a single entity. In 1979, a very important step was taken by the government: on July 23, pursuant to Executive Order No. 546, the Ministry of Transpor tation and Communication was created. With its creation, it was intended that there would be a single government agency to guide and direct national transport policies. Instead of fragmented and often confusing approaches, 11 the new Ministry will henceforth provide the guidance and direction11 • Various government agencies were then placed under the administrative and operational control of the new Ministry. This, how ever, has not solved the situation which existed before its creation. Figure 12 shows this. Some government agencies still continue to per form functions related to transportation. The Civil Aeronautics Board for instance still remains under the Ministry of Tourism and has not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Transportation. The Philippine National Railway and the Metro Manila Transit Corporation, two govern ment corporations created under separate laws are exempt from many rules and regulations of the Board of Transportation. The relative freedom with which these two government firms has caused considerable apprehension in private bus companies who are confused as to the extent of direct government participation in the road transport industry (Freeman, Fox & Associates, 1977). The two government bus firms are for instance free to field units wherever there is demand. Fare structuring is not subject to Board of Transportation regulations. Although the government is well within its rights to do this, the absence of a definite and clear policy as to how much the government 78. intends to take part as an operator must be clearly defined for the protection of private investors. Although it is the stated policy of the government to maintain the public road transport industry in the hands of private operators (BOT Report, 1978). Recent government pro- grams especially in Metro Manila however, have been viewed suspiciously by private bus companies. This is one of the causes of diminished invest- ment in the road transport industry during the past 3 or years. Clearly the Ministry of Transportation will still have to rationalize these different and often conflicting situations and inte- rests to be able to come out with definitive program. 6.4 Lack of Technical Skills The lack and to a great extent the total absence of transport planning and policy in the national government level is not the only result of the absence of a single government Ministry directing the planning and policy making effort of the different existing transport agencies but has also been traced to the lack of technical skills20 (Bautista, 1978; Freeman, Fox and Associates, 1977). In the past, very little transport planning has been undertaken on the local, provincial and national levels; this has resulted in the non-development of the . needed technical skills to plan and then implement national government road transport goals and objectives. When the government started to undertake studies in the 1970 1 s, it became apparent that the country was lacking in trained personnel to undertake these studies. The government therefore, turned to foreign consultants. Most of the transport studies 20 The Philippines is not the only country where this problem is found. In the United Nations sponsored Seminar-Cum-Training held in Jakarta from 12 January to 12 February 1976, the final report point out that this problem is common to the other countries .of ASEAN. 79. that have been undertaken so far were mostly done by foreign consultant groups from Japan, England and Australia. There are obvious dangers to this. Local conditions differ from country to country and it is impera tive that these conditions must be taken into account when arriving at recommendations. The presence of local counterparts in such studies would minimize these dangers and ensure that these studies will be of benefit instead of complicating a situation that is already confused. The ramifications and importance of transportation to the whole gamut of development of the country is just beginning to be realized by the government and it will take years to develop and train a corps of trained people so that planning on the national and local levels will be imple mented and carried out down to the lowest level. An important step towards this has been the establishment of the Transport Training CenterJ at the University of the Philippines. This will undoubtedly contribute immensely to the training of personnel to improve the training profile of government men engaged in transport work. 6.5 Effect of the Present Franchising System In 1974 the then Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications conducted a nationwide transport survey to find out and determine the weaknesses of the country's road transport system. An important finding of that survey was the manner by which routes are allocated, determined and distributed {Transport in National Development, 1975). It was found out that in many areas, there is lack of transport carriers but in some routes, there is an oversupply of transport utili ties. Road transport requirements are not being properly met through the proper allocation of transport facilities. This situation ia directly associated to the present franchising system. The approval and disapproval of a franchise and the route to be travelled by a parti- 80. cular transport unit or firm rests with the Board of Transportation. The process is carried out in a quasi-judicial manner as provided for by the provisions of the Public Service Law of 1936 (Sections 13 to 17, Chap. 11). This has been reinforced by paragraph 1, Section 2 of PD No. 101 which states that 11 the Board shall proceed promptly along the method of legislative inquiry". "The approval or disapproval of any application for the operation of road transport service involves the collective action of the Board of Transportation headed by the Chairman and its members. Since all applications are eventually forwarded and processed at the central office, the quasi-judicial hearing is a central ized process. The route that will eventually be operated by an applicant is ' not predetermined by the Board on the basis of lack of carrier capacity on a particular route but by profit which is dependent on whether the prospective applicant applies for it. Since there is no government subsidy of any sort, profit is the chief motive why an applicant applies for a route. The present process does not vest on the Board the author ity to invite prospective applicants to operate on a particular route because of necessity. The Board only acts on applications brought before it. If for instance there is the necessity to provide a trans port service between the routes B to C which is not necessarily profit able, the Board cannot compel the applicant to change the route of his application without his consent if he originally applied for the route A to B. The best that could be done is to disapprove the application altogether and suggest to the applicant other possibilities. There is an inherent constraint on the Board of Transportation (Castillo, 1978). The functions of the Board on franchising public service utilities are expressly defined by Law (Section 13 to 17, Chap. 11, C.A. 146). Although the Board may be aware of the lack of transport services in a particular 81. area, the Board could not initiate any action on its own. It takes action only on matters brought to its attention. Even PD No. 101 which gives the Board broad powers over road transport facilities has not altered the situation. This brings to light the present policy of relying on private companies for road transport services. While the government is pursuing a course that is clearly intended to increase the number of the two government bus fleets, pronouncements by responsible government offi cials continue to say that public road services will remain in the hands of private operators (BOT report to Batasang Pambansa, 1978). Conflicts of interest have naturally arisen and this has been constantly attacked by the private sector (Paras-Nisce, 1980). The Board regulates all fare structures and allocates and fixes all routes of transport services. The bus fleets of the two government owned bus corporation, the Metro Manila Transit Corporation (MMTC) and the Philippine National Railway (PNR) are, however, exempted. These two bus firms have the freedom to field units to any particular route. The MMTC in Metro Manila and the PNR in the Provinces in Luzon. The two also have freedom to structure their own fares. This however, must be questioned. If it is the policy of government to continue relying on private companies for road trans port services, then it has the duty to protect whatever investment the private sector sinks into the industry. If the government intends to enter as an operator it must state precisely how far it intends to parti cipate as an operator. The number of buses of these two government bus firms have increased over the last 4 years. The fares are lower than those of private bus companies and the private firms could not compete on these terms. What has happened is that the increase in transport service has 82. not kept pace with transport demands. In some cases, investments have declined especially in the heavily populated island of Luzon. This is shown in Tables 6 and 7. Because government ownership is not big enough to be able to meet and satisfy the increasing transport demands as a result of insufficient carrier capacity, the commuting public have suffered. 6.6 Effects of Presidential Decree No. 101 The rationale behind the promulgation of this Decree was to solve the many problems that have plagued the public road transport industry over the years. This is with the regards to the proliferation of illegal operators. This law was intended to provide the Board of Transportation with the authority to grant amnesty to these illegal operators so that their operations could be legitimized and for the Board to develop new methods of granting franchises. An important problem then was to find a faster means of issuing franchises to meet the tremendous demand for road transport. Another chronic problem prior to PD 101 which eventually reached alarming proportions was what was 21 locally known as the "Kabit System11 This is a method by which ille- gal operators circumvent existing rules and regulations so that they could operate public transport services without getting a franchise from the Board by using the franchise of authorized and legitimate operators. As an example, under existing procedures, a prospective operator may apply for the authority to operate 10 units but in actual fact has only 5 units ready at the time of the application. If the application is eventually approved, the applicant is given time (normally a year) to 21 The closest translation to this in English is to attach or to connect. fill up the applied quota of 10 units. What is done in many instances is to get interested parties who are willing to fill up the quota. This is done by an interested party with ready units making a theoretical sale to the legitimate operator so that it will appear that the legiti mate operator can own the units. In actual fact, however, the operation of the units remains with the owner. The legitimate operator will in turn receive a fee for allowing the use of his franchise. The implications of this practice to the road transport indus try are enormous. Safety and good maintenance suffer. In cases of accidents, judicial litigations becomes complicated and long. It also complicates insurance settlements and deprives the government of legi timate taxes and revenues. A valid question to ask would be why should the interested party not go and apply directly to the Board for his franchise? The answer to this is that it has become extremely difficult to apply for a franchise especially if one is from a far away place such as Mindanao. The backlog of applications that has built over the years is huge as will be shown later. With the promulgation of PD 101, it was the intention to eliminate the notorious "Kabit System". The Decree also was intended to give a chance to small transport operators and illegal operators to come out in the open so that their operations could be legitimized. The provisions of PD 101 are clear on this. Paragraph 3, section 1 of PD 101 states that the Board is authorized nto grant special permits of limited term for the operation of public utility motor vehicles or convert clandestine operators into legitimate and responsible operatorsn. The initial result was promising. Special permits which were more easy to obtain enabled illegal operators to come out in the open. As years went by, however, another problem developed. This new problem 84. has now become bigger than the problem PD 101 intended to solve. As a result of the authority of the Board to grant special permits the number of applications started to grow until the backlog became unmanageable. Table 5 will show the increase of applicants from 1975 to 1978 plus the number of applicants adjudicated and backlog. Since prospective appli cants must buy their units before applying, they run the risk of losing their investment if they wait too long before their applications are approved. The solution is that they operate illegally. The number has increased and the problem has now been compounded. TABLE 5 GROWTH OF APPLICANTS, 1975-78 Year No. of Applicants No. of Adjudicated Backlog 1975 41,879 35,394 6,485 1976 47,830 43,394 4,436 1977 135,871 97,134 38,737 1978 185,018 138,921 46,097 Source: Board of Transportation, 1978 Not only is there a tremendous strain on the administrative capability of the Board but it has also created scores of other problems. There is now an increase in the.number of illegal vehicles in operation due to the inability of the Board to adjudicate the huge number of applica tions. Since it has become the duty of law enforcement agencies to stop the illegal operation, a substantial effort has been diverted for this purpose. The issues just discussed in this chapter are now the focus of intensive government attention. All these government activities are· 85. intended to make road transport more efficient to be able to cope with the ever increasing transport demands and also make it compatible with the national transport goals and objectives. Inspite of government efforts such as the reorganization of some transport agencies, passage of new legislations, appointment of new government transport officials and the application of high technology, many of the problems remain unsolved. The complexity of the situation is such that it would require the most sustained and professional effort on the part of the goverrLment to solve many of these problems. There are no easy solutions and the next and concluding chapter will explain some of the important reasons and difficulties faced by the government in its attempt to improve and solve the country's transport problems. -86. CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSIONS AND COMMENTARIES That there are problems in the public road transport in the Phil ippines is. undeniable. As shown in the earlier chapters however, these problems are not only the result of the government's inability to cope with the problems associated with the rapid urbanization process that has taken place after the Second World War but also because of its failure to dismantle old laws, economic concepts and administrative procedures that are no longer responsible under present day conditions. There are therefore important lessons to be learned from history not only as a tool to a better understanding of the present complex trans port situation but also as an instrument in finding solutions to the many transport problems. It is not enough to rely purely on the appli cation of high technology and legislation to solve all these problems. Some important points are drawn in the presentation of chapters 3, 4, and 5. They are the following: 1. This study has traced the growth of transport from a predomi nantly water based transport system to rail and then to road. The shift from rail to road took place in a relatively short period and this con tributed to the inability of the government to cope with the increasing demands of this mode of transport. 2. This study was also able to trace the pattern of urban growth that led to the making of Metro Manila as the dominant center of econo mic, cultural, educational and political activity in the Philippines. Because of this, urban blight is very pronounced in the city and the government has naturally concentrated it major efforts in trying to solve the city's urban problems particularly transport. The effect of 87 •. this to the solution of the overall transport problem however, is negative. The programs that are being undertaken at present indicate that the city's transport problems are being solve in isolation without relating them to the overall transport situation. 3. This study has also shown how the present public service regu latory system originated and that this has remained basically unchanged from the system introduced by the Americans before the Second World War. One result of th is is that existing administrative procedures which have evolved over a long period, have developed within the legal frame work of these old laws. Whatever steps taken must therefore be within the legal framework of these laws and would therefore not be effective under present day conditions. In Chapter 6, selected issues were brought out and discussed. The following paragraphs could provide some explanations or commentaries on the issues brought out. 1 • Lack of Transport Coordination The need for integrated planning and development of transport facilities to provide and maintain a comprehensive transport system at the least possible cost has been recognized by the government and this led to the establishment of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Although the establishment of the Ministry was intended to place all decision making in one single entity, this has not been achieved. This is shown in Figure g.. Presently therefore, there is no single body that controls all forms of transport in the Philippines. With so many agen cies performing independent functions, it is difficult to achieve the overriding objective of transport planning and development of land, water and air transportation in an economical and effective system as 88. envisioned in the country's 5 year National Economic Development Plan. Such a goal is difficult to achieve because the Ministry of Transporta tion and Communications does not have complete operational and adminis trative control over all the transport agencies. Individual agencies still enjoy considerable autonomy with power to formulate their own goals and plans for maintaining, improving or establishing new links or services. Under this situation, the agencies handles its own resolved goals by making short term decisions rather than attempting to antici pate long term conditions. With such a complex organizational decision making process, conflict is common among these agencies. It is there fore difficult to engender spontaneous change in the bureaucracy to cope with new and more complex transport problems. Until sweeping reforms occur, the process of transport coordination will be hampered. 2. Influence of Politics The situation described ·in the preceding paragraph is to a large extent the product of the present political system. The head of state and government is the President who is at the same time the Prime Minister. Since the country is still in the state of Martial Law, the government revolves around the President assisted by.his ministers. The bureaucracy that existed in the past have been characterized by patronage and virtual obligations. This made attempts at more effi cient administration difficult. Inspite of present government efforts to inject professional considerations in the country's transport deve lopment goals, vestiges of the old practices are difficult to eradicate. Given this consideration, it is easy to see why conflicts of interest are common and bureaucratic change difficult to achieve. In the light of the present political system therefore, only the 89. President could force a dramatic change in the bureaucracy. Given the present organizational structure however, it is difficult to see this happening in the near future. In the absence of any Presidential action, the situation will have to wait for the development of a framework that is best suited to the unique conditions of the country. Unlike many countries where the social matrix is more permissive of economic development, attitudes and insti tutions in the Philippines constitute a major obstacle. 3. Foreign Technology It has become the practice of many developing countries to rely on foreign advice and consultants in charting their transport develop ment programs. Although this is partly due to the requirements of lend ing institutions, such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, most of these efforts were initiated by the assisted country themselves. The Philippines is no exception. Due to the lack of technical skills, the country has relied on foreign technology to help the country in its development programs. Social, cultural and political institutions between developed and developing countries are often so different how ever that there is always the danger of applying solutions to conditions in a coun.try based on entirely different situations. Since the Philip pines is still in the process of developing a corps of trained personnel, the country may have to continue to use foreign expertise for the time being but it is imperative to develop local talent and use efficiently what is already available. 4. Improved Organization The Board of Transportation as it is presently organized have been shown to be unable to cope with the increasli1g demands of road 90. transport. As it is, the Board of Transportation suffers deficiencies. These are: the lack of capability to enforce its own regulations; bureau cratic overload; and an organizational set-up that has proven time and again to be unresponsive to the rapidly changing situation in the road transport sector. Administratively, a serious step should be taken to delegate some functions compatible to the government's program of admi nistrative decentralization. Regional field offices should be upgraded to be able to handle additional functions. The bulk of the Board's efforts is concentrated in trying to solve Metro Manila's transport problems. This shows a failure on the part of the Board to relate the city's problems to the whole transport problems of the country. As shown in Figure 13 the Board is not organized to cope with this situation. The Board must realize that the city's prob lems although very important to the national transport issues, must not be treated in isolation. 5. Revision of Transport Laws In the past, the operation of the various modes of transport have been carried out independently from each other with minimal coordination. Early legislations are largely responsible for this situation. Amend ments and revisions which were intended to improve the system have failed to give an effective base for the more complex transport demands of today. Many of the existing administrative procedures which have evolved over a long period have developed within the framework of the existing legislations. They have therefore reinforced the disadvantages and problems. It is unfortunate that there have been no major effort to undertake 91. studies to reassess existing legislations. These laws have been proven to be unresponsive to present day transport conditions. Unless a meaningful change in many of these antiquated laws are undertaken many of the constraints that are affecting the bureaucracy will continue. 6 • Transport Problems of Metro Manila Given the present trends, Metro Manila's transport problems will continue to outpace the government effort to solve these problems. Population will continue to grow and urban blight worsen (Metro Manila Development Plan, 1979 ). The city lvill also continue to· receive much of the attention and resources of the government for its development projects. Because the cityrs problems are viewed as a critical national problem, there is a tremendous amount of work presently being undertaken by the government. Transport studies are being undertaken and actions being implemented. All these actions however, indicate that there is no single authority directing them and there is difficulty in pinpoint ing who is in charge of all the projects being undertaken. The city is of course unique and it could only be explained by describing the set-up. The Metro Manila area is within the area of responsibility of the Board of Transportation. Consequently, the Board can undertaken its own programs and studies. The Board however, is also under the Ministry of Transportation which is undertaking its own programs. The Metro Manila Commission which is running the government of the area is also undertaking its own studies. It is easy to see therefore why no single course of action could be taken. This situation will continue into the future unless consideration is given for a proper hierarchical structure which could assist in delimiting the division of functions among the national, provincial and city government in the transport planning process. R-1 REFERENCES 1 Adams, Walter and Gray, Horace M., Monopoly in America, New York, The Macmillan Company, 1955, 221 pp. 2 Almario, G.O., Transportation and the Public Service Law, Quezon City, Philippines, Phoenix Press Inc., July 1977, 902 pp. 3 Bendixson, T., Instead of Cars, Middlesex, England, Penquin Books Ltd., 1977, 254 PP• 4 Bourne, L.S., Urban Systems Strategies for Regulation, London Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press, Ely House, 1975, 264 pp. 5 Eliot Hurst, M.E., Transportation Geography, New York, McGraw Hill Book Company, 1974, 528 pp. 6 G. William, K.M., Transport and Public Policy? London; George Allen and Umuin Ltd., 1964, 259 pp. 7 Haefele, E., Transport and National Goals, Washington D.C.: The Brookings Institutions, 1969. 8 Hardentorp, A. V.H., History of Industry and Trade of the Philippines, Manila, McCullough Printing Co., 1958, 743 pp. 9 Hutchinson, B.G., Principles of Urban Transport Systems Planning, Washington D.C., Scripta Book Co., 1974, 444 pp. 10 Manchester, WJt., American Caesar, Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964; 1st Ed., Boston, Little Brown 1978, 793 pp. 11 Milne, A.M., The Economics of Inland Transport, London, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd. 1955, 292 pp. 12 Papandreou, A.G. and Wheeler, J.T., Competition and its Regula tion, New York, Printice-Hall, Inc., 1954, 504 pp. 13 Parker, R.S. and Troy, P.N., The Politics of Urban Growth, Canberra, Australia National University Press, 1972, 160 pp. R-2 14 Pegrunn,D.F., Transportation Economics and Public Policy, Howewood, Illinois, Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1973, 596 pp. 15 Yoshpe, H.B. and Brown, F.R., Transportation: The Nation's Lifelines, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington D.C. 1961, 152 pp. 16 Alip, E. "The Chinese in Manila11 In The Philippine Quarterly Manila, the Philippine Quarterly, 1976, March 1976, Vol 8 No. 1 pp 35-37. 17 Baldwin, J.R. 11 The National Airline, The Government and the People 11 • Paper delivered in London February 1970. 18 Banaag, C.G. "BLISS: The Total Approach to Human Settlementn, in Nation's Journal, Manila: Nation's Journal 1979, 10 October 1979, Vol II, p 4 and p 28. 19 Banaag, C.G. 11 The Overland Route-Safe and Smooth", in Nation's Journal, Manila, Nation's Journal, 1979, 17 January 1979, Vol II pp 6-8. 20 Castillo del, Romeo. "Manila's Transport Problems", in Nation's Journal, Manila: Nation's Journal, August 1978, Vol I, No. 6 pp 14-17. 21 Clark, P.M. and Schwarzwalder, J.J. 11Competition in the Trans port Industry11 , in Transportation Engineering Journal. Australia: Transportation Engil!eering Journal, August 1976 Vol 102, No. TES pp 489-505. 22 Dans, J.P. Jr. Discussion Paper, Seminar on Transportation, University of the Philippines Law Center, 7 January 1980. 23 Epistola, S.V. 11 The Day the Chinese Came to Trade" in Filipino Heritage, Lahing Pilipino Inc., 1978, Vol 3, pp 785-719. 24 Epistola, S.V. 11Asia's Ancient Common Marketn· in Filipino Heritage, Lahing Pilipino Inc., 1978, Vol 3, pp 785-719. 25 Marcos, F .E. IIFacets of Early Filipino Civilization", in Archipelago, Manila, Archipelago, 1978, Vol 5, pp 29-38. 26 Marshall, Mary. 11 War and Peace on the Railway11 , in Archipelago, Manila, Archipelago, 1978-11, A-44, pp 8-13. R--3 27 Nakpil, C.G. 11 From Sled to Jeepneyn, in Nation's Journal, Manila, Nation's Journal 1978, 6 August 1978, Vol 1, PP 4-7. 28 Nairn, R.J. npublic Transport - Efficiency and Equity11 , in ARRB proceedings, Vol 9, 1978, pp 18-26. 29 Oblena, Grace. 11 Goals for the MARINA 11 , in The Philippine Trade and Developmenttt, Manila Philippine Trade and Develop ment, October 1975, Vol 1 No. 3, pp 17-18. Quirino, C. "The Chronicles of Pegafetta11 , in Filipino Heritage, Lahing Pilipino Inc., 1978, Vol 3, pp 828-832. 31 Sipin, L. V. ttThriving, self~contained Communities far from Manila r s Madding Crowd n, in Nation r s Journal, Manila: Nation's Journal 1979, 10 October 1979, Vol II, pp 10-12. 32 Taaffe, E.]•. , Moril, R.L. and Gould, R.R., Transport Expansions in Underdevelop Countries: A Comparative Analysis, Geographical Review, 1963 Vol 53, pp 503-529. 33 Tulfo' Ramon. ttin Transition - Public Service Law"' in Nation Is Journal. Manila: Nation's Journal, August 1978, Vol 1 No. 6, pp 8-9. 34 Young, A. W. "The New Zealand Transport Policy Study", in The Chartered Institute of Transport. London: The Chartered Institute of Transport. September 1973, Vol 35 No. 6, pp 240-245, 253- 35 Community Train -Easing Metro Manila's Transport Problems, Philippine Development, Manila, Philippines, April 1977, Vol IV, No 23 pp 8-10. 36 Five-Year Philippine Development Plan 1978-82, NEDA, Manila Philippines, September 1977. 37 Metro Manila Transit Corporation- Boon to Metro Manila's Commuters. Philippine Development, Manila, Philippines, June 1978, Vol VI, No. 3, pp 21-24. 38 National Transport System Study Report submitted to the Presi dent by the Inter Agency Committee on Transport Planning dated August 1979. R-4 39 The Philippines, Department of Public Information, Manila Philippines, 1976, 152 pp. 40 Philippine Highways, Bureau of Public Works, Manila, June 1950, 192 pp. 41 The Philippine Yearbook. Manila, National Economic and Develop ment Authority, National Census and Statistics Office, 1977 Edition, 1095 pp. 42 Report of the Seminar-Cum-Training Course for Traffic Engineers and Transport Planning Officers - Their Role in City Administration, Jakarta, Singapore, 26 January - 12 February 1976. 43 RP Shipping Industry An Overview. The Philippine Trade and Development. Manila, Philippines, October 1975, Vol 1, No. 3, pp 6-12, 31-35. 44 Review of Transportation Planning in Australia. TASK 6 - Final Report Legislation and Administrative Procedure. Naasra, 1977- 45 Streamlining The Nation's Seaport. Philippine Development, Manila, Philippines, September 1977, Vol V, No. 9, pp 24-29. 46 Summary of Recommendations Volume I. The second report; The Task Force on Human Settlements, Quezon City, Philippines, September 1975. 47 Transportation. Philippine Development. Manila, Philippines, December 1977, Vol V, No. 15, pp. 30-32. 48 Transport and National Development, NEDA, Manila, September 1975, 117 pp. A-1 APPENDIX A SOURCES OF DATA Respective government agencies compile their own statistics and these are the figures taken by the Bureau of Census and Statistics for publication. The Bureau of Land Transportation compiles data on the number of registered motor vehicles classified by type, make, and by place of registration; number of drivers licenses issued; fees; accident and apprehension reports and other information. The Board of Transportation prepares a list of road transpor.t operators by place of registration. Statistics on roads and bridges are compiled regularly by the Ministry of Public Highways and are usually published in the Ministry's annual report. There have been cases in the past of discrepancies in the figures released by some government agencies. The Highway Patrol for instance would have different figures on the number of vehicles from that of the Bureau of Land Transportation and the Board of Transporta tion. In collecting the data for this study only those figures from the agency officially responsible for the publication were used. In the case of the number of motor vehicles, only the figures of the Bureau of Land Transportation were used while the figures from the police and the Board of Transportation were discarded. These informa tion therefore could be taken as official government figures. Unfortunately, there is difficulty in checking which of the figures are correct. There is no independent agency that could do the veri fication of the true figures. In Fugure 4, the data on the length of roads from 1910 to 1948 were taken from "Philippine Highways", 1950, a study undertaken by the Bureau of Public Highways • The graph shows an actual decrease in the length of paved roads from 1948 to 1965. This is very unusual. Unfortunately, the author was unable to procure official figures from 1948 to 1965 and could offer no explanation as to the reason for this decrease. B-1 APPENDIX B PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 101 EXPEDITING THE METHODS IN PRESCRIBING, REDEFINING OR MODIFYING THE LINES AND MODES OF OPERATION OF PUBLIC UTILITY MOTOR VEHICLES IN THE PHILIPPINES WHEREAS, in the Greater Manila Area, the bigger towns and cities in the Philippines, and main roads connecting them, there exists serious traffic congestion and disorder that have been causing acci dents and delays in travel, which are highly detrimental to public safety and convenience and to the functions of commerce, industry, and the Government. WHEREAS, in many parts of the country, due partly to inade quacy of transportation facilities, there have abounded unauthorized operators of public utility motor vehicles (ncolorum11 and llkabittt), who have clandestinely operated in violation of the penal provisions of existing law, rendered unregulated, unsafe or sub-standard service, put up unfair competition to legitimate operators, and deprived the Government of considerable amounts of taxes and fees. WHEREAS, it is the policy of the State, as swiftly as possible, to improve the deplorable condition of vehicular traffic, obtain maxi mum utilization of existing public service motor vehicles, eradicate the harmful and unlawful trade of clandestine operators by replacing or allowing them to become legitimate and responsible operators, and update the standards that should henceforth be followed in the opera tion of public utility motor vehicles; and WHEREAS, to carry out this national policy, it is imperative to provide, among other urgently needed measures, more expeditious methods in prescribing, redefining, or modifying the lines and mode of operation of public utility motor vehicles that now or thereafter, may operate in this country. NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, do hereby promulgate this Decree. SECTION 1. Powers of the Board of Transportation. Notwith standing the provisions of existing law to the contrary, the Board of Transportation, in carrying out the declared national policy, shall have the power: 1. To prescribe, redefine or modify the lines, routes, or zones of service of operators that now or hereafter may operate public utility motor vehicles in the Philippines. 2. To grant special permits of limited term for the operation B-2 of public utility motor vehicles as may, in the judgment of the Board, be necessary to supplement and render adequate the service in any area, as a consequence of the modification of lines, routes or zones of service undertaken pursuant to this Decree. 3. To grant special permits of limited term for the operation of public utility motor vehicles as may, in the judgment of the Board, be necessary to replace or convert clandestine operators into legiti mate and responsible operators. 4. To fix just and reasonable standards, classification, regulations, practices, measurements, or service to be furnished, imposed, observed, and followed by operators of public utility motor vehicles. SEC. 2. Exercise of powers. -In the exercise of the powers granted in the preceeding section, the Board shall proceed promptly along the method of legislative inquiry. Apart from its own investigation and studies, the Board, in its discretion, may require the cooperatien and assistance of the Bureau of Transportation, the Philippine Constabulary, particularly the Highway Patrol Group, the support agencies within the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications, or any other government office or agency that may be able to furnish useful informa tion or data in the formulation by the Board of any policy, plan or program in the implementation of this Decree. The Board may also call conferences; require the submission of position papers or other documents, information, or data by operators or other persons that may be affected by the implementation of this Decree; or employ any other suitable means of inquiry. SEC. 3. Limitations. -In carrying out the purposes of this Decree, the Board shall adopt and observe a just and reasonable system of priorities in the redefinition, modification, or grant operating rights, and reduce as much as possible any adverse effect on any person or persons affected by this Decree. SEC. 4. Transitory provision. - Six months after the promul gation of this Decree, the Board of Transportation, the Bureau of Transportation, the Philippine Constabulary, the city and municipal police forces and the provincial and city fiscals shall wage a con certed and relentless drive towards the total elimination and punish ment of all clandestine and unlawful operators of public utility motor vehicles. SEC. 5. Repealing clause. - All Acts, parts of Act, executive orders, and regulations inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed. SEC. 6. Effectivity. -This Decree takes effect immediately. Done in the City of Manila, this 19th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three. C-1 APPENDIX C SUMMARIES OF THE MORE RELEVANT ROAD AND TRANSPORT LAWS 1. Republic Act 4136. This is known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, it provides the means of controlling the use of the country's land transportation vehicles. It was enacted in 1964 to develop the orderly, convenient, safe and peaceful use of motor vehicles through the control and registration of motor vehicles and the licensing of owners, dealers, conductors and drivers. 2. Commonwealth Act No. 146. This is also known as the Public Service Act. It was passed in 1936 to establish procedures for the control and regulation of public utilities in the country. This act created the public service commission which was subsequently replaced in 1972 by the Board of Transportation. 3. Presidential Decree No. 492. Dated June 27, 1974, this law established the Manila Transit Corporation, later renamed Metro Manila Transit Corporation (MMTC) to manage and operate a public transport system within Metro Manila. 4. Presidential Decree No. 101. This Decree dated January 19, 1973 prescribes methods for defining or modifying the lines and modes of operation of public utility motor vehicles in the country. 5. Presidential Decree No. 207. This Decree dated June 6, 1973, established a need for the use of standardized early warning devices (EWD) as a requirement for the registration of motor vehicles in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. 6. Presidential Decree No. 843,of December 12, 1975. This Decree provides that an energy/ad valorem tax shall be levied, assessed and collected annually, prior to registration, from owners of every private passenger automobile. 7. Presidential Decree No. 612 of July 1, 1975. This is known as the "New Insurance Code 11 • It requires compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance. All vehicles must now be insured prior to the registration of any motor vehicle. c~ 8. Presidential Decree No. 1181. This Decree provides for the control of air pollution caused by motor vehicles. 9. Presidential Decree No. 98. This Decree prohibits the attachments of sirens, bell horns, whistles, and similar gadgets to motor vehicles. R-R-1 REFERENCES Abellera, L.M. et al (1978), Intervie\v with the Author, Quezon City, January, 1979. Abellera, L.M. (1979), Recommendation on the Reorganization of th~ Transport Industry, Memorandum submitted to the President, Quezon City, 1979. Adams, \valter, and Gray, Horace H. (1955), Honopoly in America, New York, the Hacmillan Company, 1955, 221 pp. Alip, E. (1976), 11The Chinese in Manilall_, The Philippine QuarterlY:, Manila, Harch 1976, Vol 8 No 1, pp 35-37o · Almario, G.O. (1977), Transportation and the Public Service La~, Quezon City, Philippirl.es, Phoenix Press Inc., July 1977, 902 pp. Aruego, J~f. (1963), Philippine Government in Action, Manila, World Current Events, Inc., 1963; 322 pp. Bald1vin, J .R. (1970), liThe National Airline, The Government and the People11 • (Paper read in a Symposium in London, February 1970 ). Banaag, C.G. (1979), liThe Overlapd Route-Safe and Smoot~~ Nation's Journal, Manila, 17 February 1979, Vol 11) pp 6-8. Banaag, C.G. (1979), IIBLISS: The Total Approach to Human Settlements11 , N~tionts Journ~, Manila, 10 October 1979, Vol 11 p 4 and p 28. Bautista, E.G. (1978), Discussion Paper (Paper read in a Transportation Seminar in Hongkong, 1978). Bendixson, T. (1977), Instead of Cars, Hiddlesex, England, Penguin Books Ltd., 1977, 254 pp. BOT Report to the National Assembly (1978), Report to the Subcommittee on Transportation, Interim National Assembly, by the Board of Transportation, 1978o Bourne, L.S. (1975), Urban Systems~Strategies for Regulations, London, Clarendon ~ess, Oxford University Press, Ely House, 1975o 264 PP• R-R-2 Calderon, A.B. (1976), IIHanila Under the Americansn, The Philippine Quarterly, Hanila, Harch 1976, Vol 8 No 1, pp 6i069. Castillo del, R. (1978), liAn Impressive Recordn, Nationts Journal, Hanila, 30 August 1978, Vol 1 No 6, pp 26-27. Castillo del, R. (1978), "Hanila 1 s Transport Problemstt, Nationts Journal, Manila, 30 August 1978, Vol 1 No 6, pp 14-17. Clark, P.M. and Schwarzwalder, J.J. (1976), ncompetition in the Transport Industrytt, Transportation Engineering Journal. Australia, August 1976, Vol 102 No TES,pp 489-505. Dans, J.P. Jr. (1980), Discussion Paper (Paper read at the Seminar on Transportation, University of the Philippines Law· Center, 7 February 1980)o E_liot Hurst, M.E. (1974), Transportation Geogr;aphy, New York, McGraw· Hill Book Company, 1974, 528 pp. Epistola, s.v. (1978), 11The Day the Chinese Came to Traden, Filipino Heritage, Lahing Filipino Inc., 1978, Vol 3, pp 581-588. Epistola, S.V. (1978), UAsiats Ancient Common Marketn, Filipino Heritage, Lahing Filipino Inc., 1978, Vol 3, pp 785-789. Five-Year Philippine Development Plan 1978-82 (1977), Five Year Phi~ pine Development Plan 1978-82, NEDA, Hanila, September 1977. Freeman, Fox and Associates (1977), Final Recommendations, Metro Manila Transport Plan, Manila, 1977. Glvilliam,· K.H. (1964), Transport and Public PoliGy, London, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1964, 259 pp. Haefele, E. (1969), Transport and National Goals, lvashington D.C., The Brookings Institutions, 19699 Hardentorp, A.V.H. (1958), History of Industry and Trade of the Philippines, Manila, HcCullough Printing Co., 1958, 743 pp. Hutchinson, B.G. (1974), Principles of Urban Transport Systems ~lanning, Washington D.C., Scripta Book Co., 1974, 444 pp. R-R-3 Hanchester, \V.R. (1978), American Ceasar, Douglas MacArthur 1880-1964, 1st Ed., Boston, Little Brown, 1978, 793 pp. Marcos, F.E. (1978), IIFacets of Early Filipino Civilizationsa, Archipelago, Manila, 1978, Vol 5, pp 29-38. Harshall, Mary (1978), "War and Peace on the Railway", Archipelagp, Manila, 1978-11, A-44, pp 8-13. . Hilne, A.M. (1955), The Economics of Inland Transport, London, Sir Isaac Pitman and Sons Ltd. 1955, 793 PP• Nakpil, C.G. (1978), IIFrom Sled to Jeepneyn, Nation's Journal, Hanila, 6 August 1978, Vol 1 pp 4-7. Nairn, R.J. (1978) IIPublic Transport - Efficiency and Equityn, ARRB Proceedings, 1-978, Vol 9!. pp 18-26. - National Transport System Study Report (1979), Report by the Inter Agency Committee on Transport Planning, Hanila, August 1979. Oblena, Grace (1975), 11 Goals for the NARINA", The Philippine Trad_e ,and Development, Manila, October 1975, Vol 1 No 3, pp 17-18. Papandreou, A.G. and \Vheeler, J .T. (1954), Competitions and its Regula -tion, Ne1v York, Prentice-Hall. Inc., 1954, 504 pp. Paras-Nisce, E. (1980), Paper submitted to the Board of Transportation, Hetro Hanila, 1980 o Parker, R.S. and Troy, P.N. (1972), The Politics of Urban Growth, Canberra, Australian National University Press, 1972, 160 pp. Pegrum, D.F. (1973), Transportation Economics and Public Policy, Hmve1vQod, Illinois, Richard D. Irwin Inc., 1973, 596 pp. The Philippines (1976), The Philippin~s, Department of Public Information, Hanila, 1976, 152 PPo Philippine Development ( 1977), ucommuni ty Train - Easing Hetro Hanila t s Transport Problems11 , Philip;pine D~velopment, Manila, April 1977, Vol IV No 23, pp 8-10o R-R-4 Philippine Development (1978), '!Metro Hanila Transit Corporation -Boon to Metro Manila r s Connnuters 11 , Philippine Development, Hanila June 1978, Vol VI, No 3, pp 21-24. Philippine Development ( 1977), nstreamlining the Nation t s Seaports11 , Philippine Development, Manila, September 1977, Vol V No 9, pp 24-29. Philippine Development (1977), llTransportationll, Philippine Development, Manila, December 1977, Vol V, No 15, pp 30-32. Philippine Highways (1950), Philippine Highways, Bureau of Public W'orks, Manila, June 1950, 192 pp. The Philippine Trade and Development ( 197 5), IIRP Shipping Industry - An Overview· 11 , The Philippine Trade and Develo;ement, Manila, October 1975, Vol 1, No 3 pp 6-12, 31-35. The Philippine Yearbook (1977), The Philippine Yearbook, NEDA, National Census and Statistics Office, Hanila, 1977 ~dition, 1095 pp. Quirino, C. (1978), "The Chronicles of Pegafettan, Filipino Heritage, Lahing Pilipino Inc., 1978, Vol 3, pp 828-832. Report of the Seminar-Cum Training Course for Traffic Engineers and Transport Planning Officers - Their Role in City Administration~ Jakarta, Singapore, 2h January - 12 February 1976" Review· of Transportation Planning in Australia. TASK 6 - Final Report Legislation and Administrative Procedure. Naasra, 1977. Sipin, L.V. (1979), 11Thriving, self-contained Com.munities far from Hanilats Hadding Crmvdtt, Nation's Journal, Hanila, 10 October 1979, Vol 11, pp 10-12. Taaffe, E.J., Harrill, R.L. and Gould, P.R. {1963), HTransport Expansions in Underdeveloped Countries: A Comparative Analysistt, Geogr:aphical Review, 1963 Vol 53, pp 503-529. Tulfo, R. (1978 ), Hin Transition - Public Service Lawn, Nation's J~:mrnal, Hanila, August 1978, Vol 1, No 6, pp 8-9. Transport in National Development {1975), Transport in National Develop ment, NEDA, Hanila, September 1975, 117 pp. R-R-5 Vol 1, Report of Task Force on Human Settlements (1975), Summary of Recommendations Vol 1, The Second Report: The Task Force on Human Settlements, Quezon City, September 1975. Yoshpe, H.B. and Brown, F.R. (1961), Transportation: The Nation 1 s Lifelines, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington D.C. 1961, 152 pp. Young, A. W. ( 1973), TIThe N"e\v Zealand Transport Policy11 , The Chartered Institute of Transport. London, September 1973, Vol 35, No 6, pp 240-245 and 253. Zaide, G.E. (1962), Philippine Government, The Hodern Book Co. Inc., Hanila, 301 pp. 11 Zafra, N. (1976), Spanish Occupation of Hanila11 , The Philippine Quarterly, Hanila, March 1976, VoJ. 8 No 1, pp 47-49. >006965954