TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines - Jack Uy, President of the Tacloban City Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TFCCCI), saying the business community is "the lifeblood of the city coffers," is asking Mayor Alfred S. Romualdez not to maltreat businessmen in the city. Uy said he and his confreres in the TFCCCI are being "maltreated" by the city government under Mayor Romualdez and an instance of this is the latter's orders to reroute the flow of traffic to the downtown area without the benefit of a public hearing, even as traffic enforcers ban them from parking their vehicles and delivery trucks in front of their business establishments. "I wrote him (Mayor Romualdez) a strongly-worded letter expressing our complaints to him as we are being harassed and maltreated by his traffic enforcers with so many restrictions in the downtown area," Uy said. The TFCCCI president pointed out that the city's businessmen are the ones raising revenues and income for the city coffers and that instead of being harassed, they should, instead be supported by and get assistance from the city government. Uy said he has personally snubbed the Business Forum recently initiated by the City Government of Tacloban as he believes the city government is not sincere in helping local businessmen. "Mayor Romualdez should know that we were the ones who paid the salaries of his father (referring to former Mayor Alfredo T. Romualdez), and now him and his wife, Councilor Cristina G. Romualdez out of the taxes we pay the city government. We have been doing business in this city for a long time and we should be given a fairer deal by the city government," he underlined. He said if Romualdez is "really sincere" in helping local businessmen, "he shouldn't have ordered the rerouting of traffic by provincial jeepneys and buses which are no longer allowed to enter the city proper." Uy said the city government began said traffic reroute in the city without holding consulting the public and those affected by such a move as required by law.
"They said this was only going to be a dry-run, but now it seems that this is already being fully implemented by the city government," the business leader said. Likewise many here in Tacloban are complaining about various streets in the city's downtown area suddenly made one-way by the city government without making any previous announcements to the public. Meanwhile, of late, there have been reports that Romualdez has apparently acquiesced and has responded to complaints by the business sector and has started to undo some of his recent moves. For instance, personnel from the city's Traffic Operations Management Engineering Coordinating Office (TOMECO) has started to allow parking of vehicles by business firm owners and unloading of cargo in front of business establishments.
