THE PROPOSED P100 million budget to construct two terminals for Davao City’s planned High Priority Bus System (HPBS) will be tackled by the city council this week. Councilor Danilo C. Dayanghirang, chair of the finance ways and means committee, said over the weekend that the fund is part of the proposed Supplemental Budget 1 for the year. The budget indicates that it will be “used in setting up the interim terminals for the buses, one of them in the northern side of the city, and one of them in the southern side.” The HPBS is among the recommendations in a study undertaken by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which has allocated a $70-million loan fund for the transport modernization in Davao City. Last year, the city government already deployed several air-conditioned buses in a couple of test routes covering the south-central area. Ivan C. Cortez, head of the City Planning and Development Office, earlier said the HPBS is expected to reduce the number of public utility jeepneys by 80%, but will create jobs for affected drivers and operators. The HPBS, he said, is seen to require a 10,000 workforce, higher than the current 7,200 jeepney drivers. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

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