LTFRB has no authority to revoke PUV franchises —Escudero

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has no authority to revoke the individual franchise of public utility vehicles (PUV) that did not consolidate into cooperatives, Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero said Monday.

Escudero was referring to the provision of the government’s public transport modernization program (PTMP) which requires drivers and operators to consolidate into corporations or cooperatives to be granted franchises to operate.

“Ang franchise ay delegated lamang ng Kongreso sa LTFRB. Hindi nila pag-aari and kapangyarihang ito, maliban sa [kung] pinasa lamang sa kanila ng Kongreso. At sa paniniwala ko, hindi dapat ginagawa ng LTFRB ito,” Escudero said in a press conference after meeting with transport leaders from Manibela and PISTON, which are opposing the program due to the high cost of the vehicle, among other reasons.

(The authority to grant franchises stems from Congress. LTFRB does not own this authority unless Congress delegates it to them. And I believe the LTFRB should not be doing this.)

Article 12, Section 11 of the Constitution states that ”no franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility will be granted except to citizens of the Philippines or to corporations or associations organized under the laws of the Philippines, at least sixty per centum of whose capital is owned by such citizens; nor will such franchise, certificate, or authorization be exclusive in character or for a longer period than fifty years.”

The same provision adds, “neither will any such franchise or right be granted except under the condition that it shall be subject to amendment, alteration, or repeal by the Congress when the common good so requires.”

“Hindi dapat ginagawa ng LTFRB ito dahil pag klarong pamimilit lamang ito sa isang proyekto na hindi pa naman talaga nilang lubusan na naipapatupad,” Escudero added.

Without such authority, Escudero said that the government should not ram the PTMP program on drivers and operators by pinning their franchise on consolidation.

“Naniniwala ako na hindi dapat namimilit ang gobyerno bilang mga magulang ng ating mga mamamayan. Dapat kinukumbinsi at tinutulungan tungo sa nais nating landas kaugnay ng modernization ng PUV. Una [sa lahat], sang-ayon ko sa posisyon ng marami sa kanila na ang prangkisa ay personal sa kanila,” he said.

(I believe that the government, as guardians of our nation, should not force its people to do something. We should convince and help them with the modernization policy we seek to implement. Firstly, I agree with them that their franchise [to operate] should still be with them individually.)

“Franchise should not be exclusive to consolidated cooperatives, especially if there are issues that all members of a certain cooperative do not always agree on. Dahil parang nahohostage na iyong mga miyembro ng kooperatibang ito,” Escudero added.

(We cannot hold the drivers and operators hostage.)

Likewise, Escudero said that the PTMP is not yet 100% ready given that the route plan is yet to be finished.

“Until the route plan is finalized nationwide at hanggat hindi pa maliwanag kung sino-sino nga ba magbabiyahe sa kada rotang ito, hindi dapat pigilan mag rehistro ang mga mga jeep na hindi pa nagco-consolidate o sumasama sa kooperatiba,” he said.

(We should not force consolidation unless we already know the number of PUVs deployed in each route.)

Finally, Escudero said that the modern PUVs plying the roads are not enough to serve the commuters.

“They say 83% of PUVs are consolidated. Hindi totoo ‘yan. I will ask them (Department of Transportation and LTFRB) about that,” he said.

The Senate President said he would meet with the officials of the Transportation department, LTFRB and Cooperative Development Authority to discuss the issues raised before him by the transport groups and find a middle ground going forward.

Escudero said that there are also consolidated transport entities who are having a hard time earning, if not have gone buried in debt, because their routes turned out to be not profitable enough for them to earn and pay the monthly dues of the modern PUV unit.

“Bakit natin pipilit ito roon sa iba pa. Hangga’t hindi natin napapatunayan na uubra ito, huwag natin ipilit ito. ‘Yun ang posisyon ng Senado,” Escudero added.

GMA News Online has sought comment from LTFRB and will publish its comment once it is available. —LDF, GMA Integrated News