The House Committee on Transportation is set to hold a hearing on a bill seeking the creation of a Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) office in Bacolod City on Wednesday morning, November 9.
The committee will hear House Bill 293 filed by Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasataya.
Gasataya, in his explanatory note on the bill, said with the rising economy in the Western Visayas region, particularly in the Metropolitan Bacolod area, motor vehicle use has been on an upward trend.
This is evident in the growing volume of traffic especially in major thoroughfares, he said.
Gasataya said this has resulted in a rise in the demand for services provided by the LTFRB in relation to franchise application, registration, regulation, and issuance and sectoral subsidy programs in Bacolod.
However, despite the rising number of stakeholders situated in the Metropolitan Bacolod area, they are still burdened with the inconvenience of travelling to the LTFRB Regional Office in Iloilo, Gasataya said.
He also said the recent events pertaining to the state’s fuel subsidy program wherein stakeholders, particularly transport groups representing 7,000 drivers in Bacolod, failed to receive government subsidy amid a significant increase in fuel cost, emphasizes the need to establish an LTFRB Office to cater to and oversee the situation of stakeholders in the area.*