Mayor Khymer Olaso warmly welcomed delegates from Cabanatuan City during a benchmarking meeting held on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, at the City Hall press briefing room.
In his message, Mayor Olaso expressed gratitude for the visit and emphasized the importance of sharing and learning good practices in local governance that can be applied to their respective local government units (LGUs).
The benchmarking activity focused on transportation management, traffic regulation, and innovative solutions to address issues faced by tricycle operations in both cities. Cabanatuan City, known as the “Tricycle Capital of the Philippines” and the “Gateway of the North,” currently has around 30,000 tricycles operating within its jurisdiction.
City Administrator Percival Ramos highlighted the importance of strict enforcement of traffic rules, citing a case of one tricycle driver who accumulated more than 100 citation tickets since 2019—violations that are properly recorded in the LGU’s database system.
Other Zamboanga officials also shared initiatives such as the GrabTrike partnership to address overcharging, the Tricycle Fare Satisfactory Survey, and strategies in traffic management and regulation.
The Cabanatuan City delegation was led by Ronnie Punzal, head of the City Economic Enterprise and Public Utilities Management Office and OIC – Transport Management and Legalization Unit. Other members include Councilor Christopher Lee, ABC President and Chairman of the Committee on Transportation, Atty. Rossini Ann Torres (City Legal Office), Noel Pelimiano (Administrative Officer V – Legalization Unit), Camille Andrea Lemence (Supervisor I – CEEPUMO), Mark Samin (Admin Division – City Mayor’s Office), Narciso Ayop Jr. (Computer Programmer III – CPDO), and 10 selected TODA Presidents.
From Zamboanga City, Mayor Olaso was joined by City Administrator Percival Ramos, Executive Assistant Ret. Gen. Edwin De Ocampo (Head, Traffic Management Unit), CPDO Coordinator EnP. Ma. Luz Agbayani, Assistant CPO EnP Jessie Christopher Lapinid and Assistant City Administrator Rodolfo Saavedra, and EnP. Jessie.
The benchmarking meeting was followed by a city tour which was personally facilitated by Mayor Olaso. (Sheyn Arambala) (photo credits: Kathy Wee Sit/ April Araneta-Adriano).