PUV service contracting payouts to drivers are operators' duty — LTFRB

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Saturday payouts for duly documented trips under the government's service contracting program have already been disbursed to operators, who in turn must provide just compensation to public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers still awaiting their payment.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, LTFRB Board Member Atty. Greg Pua Jr. urged drivers to coordinate with their respective operators so they may receive their compensation.

The agreement under the Service Contracting Program (SCP), Pua said, is between the LTFRB and the operators only.

"Ang kakontrata po ng LTFRB, ng gobyerno dito, ay ang ating mga operators—those corporations and cooperatives. Wala po tayong kakontrata na mga drivers," Pua said.

(The LTFRB or the government is contracted with the transport operators—those corporations and cooperatives. We have no direct contracts with the drivers.)

Pua's statement comes a day after the conclusion of the CSP, which was marred by complaints from several PUV drivers that they have yet to receive payments for participating in the initiative.

Some drivers on the Muñoz-SM Monumento route, for example, had said it has been nearly 20 days but they are still awaiting compensation meant to relieve the impact of the ongoing Middle East crisis.

Operators' obligation

Pua said that based on LTFRB records, all properly transmitted trips—or PUV trips logged on the government's online system for the SCP— have already been paid.

"Sila naman po 'yung mga korporasyon at mga coop, sila naman po 'yung mga may obligasyon na ibigay naman po 'yung parte nu'ng mga drivers po nila," he added.

(The corporations and cooperatives are the ones obligated to give their drivers their rightful share.)

The primary reasons for delayed payments to operators are unsubmitted transmitted trip records and using a bank other than Landbank.

Pua said that if these requirements are immediately met, operators are paid within three to five days.

Coordinate with operators

The LTFRB official advised affected drivers to coordinate with their operators regarding the payments, and that the agency is willing to extend help if necessary.

"Kung may problema po kayo, kung may pinag-usapan po kayo ng mga operator ninyo at hindi po sinunod, makipag-ugnayan po kayo sa aming opisina. Hindi po kami magdadalawang-isip na i-show cause o suspendihin or kanselahin ang mga prangkisa ng inyong mga operator," Pua said.

(If you have a problem, or if you had an agreement with your operators that they did not follow, please coordinate with our office. We will not hesitate to issue a show-cause order, suspend, or cancel the franchises of your operators.)

The government aims to complete all payouts to the operators by the end of May.

Delays in trip transmission

Under the Contracting Services Program, a QR code system tracks how frequently a vehicle travels from "point A" to "point B" along its route.

According to the LTFRB, failure to properly scan or utilize this system causes a delay in trip data transmission."

"'Yung driver, kailangan pong i-scan yung QR code pag-alis po ng point A at pagdating po ng point B… tapos bago po umalis ng point B, ii-scan po ulit nila," Pua said.

(The driver needs to scan the QR code upon leaving point A and upon arriving at point B… then, before leaving point B, they have to scan it again.)

"Mayroon po kasing mga hindi na-scan, o na-scan pero nawalan, maaaring nawalan ng signal," he added.

(There were instances where it wasn't scanned, or it was scanned, but the connection was lost—possibly due to a loss of signal.)

The SCP is an initiative of the Department of Transportation to help ease drivers' financial burden amid rising fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

The agreement requires PUV operators to give passengers a 20% discount in exchange for a ₱30-per-kilometer government subsidy.

According to the LTFRB, around 16,000 to 17,000 operator units benefited from the program, while 23 million to 24 million passengers were given fare discounts. — VDV, GMA News