BY GILBERT P. BAYORAN
The campaign of the Land Transportation Office against public utility vehicles without franchises and provisional authority in Bacolod City will be suspended for two weeks, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran announced yesterday.
Familiaran disclosed that the suspension of LTO campaign for two weeks, followed the intercession of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, who is currently in isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, and was an offshoot of a dialog held yesterday at the Bacolod City Government Center, attended by members and officials of various transport groups and LTO representatives.
The two-week “ceasefire” in apprehending PUVs without franchises took effect yesterday.
While they understand the sentiments of traditional PUV operators and drivers, Familiaran said they have no other recourse but to follow the modernization program of the Department of Transportation.
Within the two-week period, Familiaran said operators have to sign a deed of undertaking that they will comply with the Jeepney Modernization Law that mandates organizing cooperatives through consolidation.
Only through consolidation can they be issued probationary authority to operate by the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board, the vice mayor said, as he stressed that the local government has no hand in this “as this is the national law.”
After this, they can file appeals to concerned government agencies, Familiaran said.
Beginning Monday, personnel of the LTO and LTFRB, assisted by the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office (BTAO), established checkpoints in key and strategic areas of Bacolod City to check for compliance of Department of Transportation Order 2017-011, that aims to phase out PUVs that are 15 years old and above, to be replaced by efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.
The stoppage of trips of PUVs without franchises and provisional authorities, in order to avoid apprehension, affected almost 80 percent of Bacolod City’s PUVs and confused commuters who were stranded in the streets for hours due to the limited availability of PUVs.
Atty. Salvador Altura Jr., LTFRB 6 spokesperson, said that operators who can avail of a franchise are only those under a cooperative as provided for in the transport modernization that started already in 2017.
Old jeepneys can only be issued with special permits, or provisional authority, as part of an interim transport plan, where permits will last only until March 31 next year, Altura said.
Councilor Al Victor Espino, chair of the Transportation committee of the Bacolod City Council, revealed that only 20 percent of the jeepney operators in Bacolod City have consolidated their franchises into modernized units.
Espino also disclosed that Mayor Benitez has asked the LTO numerous times, not to arrest the traditional jeepneys without franchises.
“It is not in the hands of the city government anymore, if their franchises will not be extended,” he stressed.*
