LTFRB: Govt not ready to take over bus operations

The government may not be ready to take over operations of bus firms, especially those that took part in a strike that inconvenienced 8,500 commuters in Metro Manila last Monday. Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) head Nelson Laluces admitted this Thursday as he said there are many factors to be considered in a takeover. "Legally, iyan ay pwede talagang i-takeover. Pero sa akin, di ko sigurado kung handa ang gobyerno. Siguro idadaan sa masusing pag-aaral," he said in an interview on dwIZ. (It is legally possible to take over the bus firms' operations. But personally I am not sure the government is ready. There are many factors to be considered.) He did not elaborate on the factors to be studied. On the other hand, he reiterated that due process is keeping them from meting immediate punishment on erring bus firms. "Sa amin may due process kami. Bibigyan namin ng due process lahat na reports na ganyan (We have to respect due process. We have to give due process to the bus firms involved)," he said.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III proposed a government takeover of bus operations, saying operating public utility buses is considered public service. Sotto said that if bus operators cannot get their acts together and address the abuses of drivers, government should take over their operations. He added state control of bus operations has proven to be effective in minimizing traffic jams and reckless driving in other countries. On the other hand, Section 17, Article XII of the 1987 Constitution decrees that in "times of national emergency, when the public interest so requires, the State may, during the emergency and under reasonable terms prescribed by it, temporarily take over or direct the operation of any privately owned public utility or business affected with public interest." Number coding needs time Meanwhile, Laluces appealed to the public to give the number-coding scheme more time to work before they judge its effectiveness. On Wednesday, critics of the scheme claim that it failed to decongest traffic in Metro Manila's main thoroughfares. "Yan ang obserbasyon pero sa akin ilang araw pa lang yan. Hindi pa talaga nakikita natin kung epektibo ang number coding o hindi. Hintayin natin ng ilang araw bago natin makita ang effect," Laluces said. (It may have been the observation of many but the scheme has been effect for only a few days. We have yet to see if it is indeed effective. Let us wait a few days to see its effectiveness before passing judgment.) Besides, he said there may have been other factors that contributed to the supposed failure of the traffic scheme to decongest busy streets. A strike by bus drivers and operators marred the first day of the coding scheme’s enforcement last Monday, leaving thousands of commuters in some parts of Metro Manila stranded. — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV