The assurance by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Region 6 that it will expedite the issuance of provisional authorities (PAs) to allow traditional jeepneys to continue operating in Bacolod City until December 31 is a temporary victory, Noli Rosales of the United Negros Drivers Operator Center (UNDOC) said Friday, May 12.
He said their group staged a protest in front of the LTFRB regional office in Iloilo on Thursday where they aired their opposition to the phase out of traditional jeepneys.
LTFRB 6 lawyer Salvador Altura informed them that they can avail of PAs without having to get the endorsement of the local government since it is a national mandate, he said.
However, they will have to comply with certain requirements such as availing of insurance and undergoing Motor Vehicle Inspection Center tests, Rosales said.
The groups that joined the protest at the LTFRB in Iloilo were the Bacolod Alliance of Commuters, Operators and Drivers, Negros Bacolod Transport Coalition, Bayan and UNDOC.
They have formed a group called “No to jeepney phase out Western Visayas”, Rosales said.
Bacolod City Administrator Pacifico Maghari also met with the LTFRB board members led by their chairman Teofilo Guadiz III at their head office in Quezon City on Wednesday.
They assured that the issuance of PA applications at the regional office as requested and endorsed by the Bacolod City government would be expedited, Maghari said.*