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Local and foreign tourists, residents lobby for “no tricycles” in Sagada

SAGADA, Mt. Province (July 8) — Can you imagine this tourist town and popularly known shangrila with noise and air pollution coming from tricycles?

This is the common sentiment nowadays in this town after some local officials proposed the entry of franchising tricycles.

This town, which valued its clean air and its serene atmosphere, has been beleaguered by the proposed entry of tricycle because of threats of noise and air pollution.

Sagada Councilor Dave Gulian said the idea of tricycles drew criticism from most residents, including local and foreign tourists that it reached the point that they had to write the Sangguniang Bayan to discourage the franchising of the tricycles.

Gulian said during the public hearing on May 6, there was an overwhelming opposition to the entry of tricyles in Sagada.

Gulian said the introduction of tricycles would be a step in traffic congestion and a source of noise pollution altering the peacefulness which does not only attract tourists but also the residents. He added that tricycles also would discourage the regular practice of walking in their town which is part of their culture.

“Visitors joke about bottling the air of Sagada to take home. Other places, in the more urbanized areas of the country, are desperate to clean the air they breathe. Shouldn’t we take the relative freshness of our air more seriously?” Gulian asked in his position paper which he earlier presented to the municipal council.

“These factors, along with our environment, our traditions and culture, are historical experiences unique in this country which define the character of our town. The question we pose to everyone is this: ‘Do we value these exceptional aspects of our town? If you do, then you would not want tricycles in Sagada,’” Gulian added.

Members of Sagada Environmental Guides Association (SEGA) and Sagada Operators and Drivers Association (SODA) expressed their opposition to tricycles saying that it would contribute to the environmental degradation of the place and a threat of livelihood to jeepney operators and drivers.

Meanwhile, residents of eastern and southern Sagada agreed to the introduction of tricycles because it is cheaper and affordable and can be used for emergency cases.

But Gulian said tricycles are not the ultimate solution to the residents’ clamor for easy transportation. He said it would be good if the residents would be informed the impact of pollution coming from the emission of the two-stroke vehicle.

Gulian said the clamor of the residents for easy access to transportation should be addressed by the operators and drivers of public utility vehicles who should reformat their schedules on transportation in respective villages in Sagada.

Sagada Mayor Robert Baaten said he also favored the entry of the tricycles since it would be good for business.

When asked about the threats of pollution, Baaten said: “Wala sigurong pollution. Kakaunti lang ang pollution, I do not believe in the issue of pollution, because there are so many trees here that could absorb the pollutants.”

However, former Sagada Mayor Thomas Killip who is now the presidential assistant for Cordillera Affairs said he is opposed to any tricycle franchise. “I would rather go for horses than tricycles,” he said.

But SODA members said they have more already more than enough jeepneys that could cater to the needs of the residents away from the town center.

Mother Earth Philippines, a nationwide movement for earth rehabilitation, wrote the municipal government also to support the growing opposition to tricycles and regarded Sagada as Mother Earth’s last frontier. The local government also conducted a “trike poll” to know the opinions of the residents on tricycles.

Letters which keep pouring in the municipal government which support the opposition to tricycles are being invoked every session among municipal meetings.

“These vehicles would seriously affect the quality of life in Sagada without providing substantial benefits to the community. Tricycles would change that serenity and cleanliness,” wrote anthropologist Villia Jefremovas and Joachim Voss, a couple who have been based in Sagada since the 1970s.

“When I heard that Sagada was considering allowing tricycles to operate, I felt literally sick to may stomach, since tricycles would undermine the very qualities that make Sagada such a pleasant place to be. They are noisy so you would lose tranquility. They would encourage people to be more sedentary and would undermine their health,” wrote Philip Geeslin, a resident from Manila. # Desiree Caluza for NORDIS

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