MANILA, Philippines - The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) yesterday started sending out notices to bus companies for them to explain why they should not be penalized for being perceived to have gone on strike on Monday.
LTFRB chairman Nelson Laluces also said the first batch of bus companies will be grilled during a hearing set on Thursday next week.
In an interview, Laluces said that as of yesterday, the LTFRB has already prepared 32 notices to bus companies. Some of the notices were already sent yesterday afternoon.
Laluces said among the bus firms the LTFRB has summoned are Alabang Metrolink, Admiral Transport, A&B Liner, Apex Commuters Transport and Baclaran Metrolink.
According to Laluces, the bus companies with notices have 72 hours upon receipt of the notice to explain in writing why should not be penalized.
The LTFRB explained that these companies were not immediately tagged as having participated in the strike.
“The sending of the notices is part of due process, precisely to give the companies a chance to explain,” Laluces said.
According to Laluces, those with notices to explain were identified based on the monitoring done by personnel of both the LTFRB and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The LTFRB on Sunday warned bus operators against going on a strike to protest the number coding scheme, as Laluces cited the Public Service Act, which he said makes it “unlawful to refuse or withhold its service when it is reasonably demanded.”
Laluces said sanctions could range from fines or suspension of the franchise to the eventual cancellation of the unit’s certificate of public conveyance.
The supposed transport strike was announced by the bus operators last week to protest against the implementation of the number-coding scheme covering buses.
But late on Monday – hours after thousands of stranded passengers were ferried by government-deployed trucks – the bus operators called a press conference denying there was a strike, saying their plan had been called off, following a meeting with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francisco Tolentino late Sunday, during which Tolentino purportedly told them that the concern on the number-coding scheme would be prioritized for discussion by the Metro Manila Council.
The bus operators blamed what they described as the “confusion” brought about by the scheme, saying most of the buses absent from the road were the ones covered by the number-coding scheme.
They added that the decision calling off the planned strike came so late in the day that some of the operators were not informed and the drivers of these operators did not report for work, thinking the strike was still on.
But Tolentino had maintained that there was a transport strike that actually occurred last Monday. - By Reinir Padua
