MANILA, Philippines – In a bid to minimize fatal road accidents along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, a composite team from different government agencies will conduct an ocular inspection on the bus terminals and garages in Metro Manila starting Friday.
The inspection teams will be composed of members of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE).
“We will see the actual situations in the bus terminals and garages of bus companies to get a clear picture of the working conditions of their employees, in particular drivers and conductors,” MMDA chief Francis Tolentino told bus operators during a dialogue held in Quezon City this morning.
LTFRB chairman Nelson Laluces and Labor Undersecretary Lourdes Transmonte also attended the dialogue.
Tolentino said each bus firm will be inspected on its compliance with Labor laws, especially on workers’ welfare and salary rates. Erring bus operators will be issued Notices of Violation and will be given sufficient time to rectify their infractions.
Transmonte said they will also check the bus firm’s employment records to determine if the company complies with the proper recruitment process.
The inspection was an offshoot of the MMDA’s proposal to bus operators to grant drivers and conductors fixed monthly salaries and non-wage benefits instead of the commission basis bus companies are practicing at present.
Transportation officials argued that providing a regular basic pay will eliminate "unhealthy" competition among bus drivers to get more passengers, which oftentimes result to over-speeding and other constant and flagrant violations of traffic regulations.
The MMDA required bus operators to submit until Tuesday their respective company policies so the agency would know if they conform to government regulations concerning road safety and discipline.
“It is your primary duty to always instill in their minds the value of road discipline and respect to other motorists, their passengers, and pedestrians,” Tolentino told the bus operators. .
During the dialogue, the issues of confiscating the driver’s license of bus drivers involved in numerous major road accidents, and the suspension or revocation of the bus company’s franchises were also discussed.
Recently, veteran journalist and UP professor Lourdes "Chit" Estella-Simbulan died after a speeding passenger bus rammed the taxicab she boarded along Commonwealth Avenue. - By Dennis
