LTFRB allows transfer of PUV franchise

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Thursday announced it is now allowing the transfer of franchise or Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) for public utility vehicles (PUVs).

In a statement, the LTFRB said it is accepting applications for the transfer of PUVs’ CPC.

The move came after some transport groups such as the Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas Inc. requested for the review of Memorandum Circular (MC) 2016-010.

Under the MC 2016-010, the public land transport regulator is prohibiting the sale and transfer of CPCs to other operators.

The MC 2016-010 was issued in order to “solve the problem of commercialization of CPCs of ‘buy-and-sell’ operators who have abused and hijacked the franchising process by trafficking in CPCs/franchises at a huge profit instead of operating the same.”

The LTFRB said that after the review of MC 2016-010 and a series of consultative meetings, it decided to “set aside the prohibition,” and have provided “safeguards and parameters in the allowance of transfer of CPC to deter the fraudulent schemes the aforementioned issuance aims to avoid.”

To lift the ban on franchise transfer, the LTFRB issued MC 2023-027 or the Guidelines on the Transfer of Certificate of Public Convenience.

The agency said the latest circular lifts the “prohibition on the acceptance of application for sale and transfer, whether voluntary or involuntary, of CPC.”

“This way, it will be easier to distribute aid to operators such as the Pantawid Pasada or Fuel Subsidy program of the government,” the LTFRB said.

“Also, operators can now easily join the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) since they will be able to transfer and register their vehicles much faster,” it added.

The agency, however, listed conditions before any applications for transfer of CPC will be allowed.

“Among them is that ‘the CPC subject for transfer must be valid and subsisting at the time of the application,’ and that ‘the transfer must also cover all authorized units under the subject CPC and no fractional transfer of CPC shall be allowed’,” the land transport regulator said.

The LTFRB added that “only two transfers shall be allowed during the validity of the CPC, provided that no transfer shall be allowed during the first year from the grant of CPC nor during the one year prior to the expiration of the validity of the CPC,” and the “payment of appropriate fees.” 

“The LTFRB is very mindful of the situation, and that is why we took careful consideration in the issuance of this circular. We needed to strike a balance between allowing a legitimate CPC transfer and at the same time deter any form of abuse,” said LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III. —VAL, GMA Integrated News