LTFRB Chairman Vigor D. Mendoza II with the BACOD group after their dialog Wednesday morning.*CNC photo
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is granting traditional jeepney operators permission to renew their provisional authorities (PAs) to operate provided their vehicles are road worthy and they justify their requests.
LTFRB Chairman Vigor D. Mendoza II gave that assurance during a meeting with traditional jeepney leaders in Bacolod City on Wednesday, August 12, Rudy Catedral, president of the Bacolod Alliance of Commuters, Operators, and Drivers (BACOD), said.
Catedral, who called the meeting’s outcome positive, said they Mendoza for the renewal provisional authorities so they could keep running, citing a shortage of public transportation units to serve Bacolod’s commuters.
Mendoza advised them to file motions for reconsideration justifying why they were previously unable to renew their PAs prior to 2023. Catedral explained that operators had missed past deadlines due to expensive LTFRB fines and because their previous requests for amnesty were not granted.
If operators provide proper justification and their vehicles pass roadworthiness inspections, the LTFRB will grant them provisional authorities to remain on the road, Catedral added.
Catedral said they sympathize with modernized jeepney groups currently facing letters of foreclosure, but traditional jeepneys should not be blamed for those financial difficulties.
He added that they informed Mendoza that modernized units alone cannot cover the transportation needs of Bacolod’s commuters if traditional jeepneys are completely phased out.
Catedral estimated that their group have nearly 1,700 consolidated and unconsolidated traditional jeepney units in Bacolod.
Mendoza reaffirmed that traditional jeepneys will be provided provisional authorities to operate as long as operators explain their delay and comply with basic requirements.*
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