By Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz @joveemarie
House leaders are pushing for the passage of a measure that seeks to abolish the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) and create the Land Transportation Authority (LTA).
House Bill 6776 seeks to repeal Executive Order 202 and EO 226, which created LTFRB and LTO.
The LTA shall be an attached agency of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and shall absorb the powers and functions of the LTFRB and the LTO.
Legislative franchise
Under the measure, no person shall conduct the business of operating public transportation without first obtaining a congressional franchise.
The bill said the holder of a legislative franchise issued should comply with the minimum amount of capitalization in order to ensure that only operators with adequate financial capacity are allowed to operate public transport: P30 million for public- utility bus (PUB) and P10 million for public-utility jeepney (PUJ), taxi and other similar services.
The measure added the holder of such legislative franchise must comply with the constitutional and statutory requirements on maximum foreign ownership throughout the duration of the holder’s franchise.
“To those holders which already have existing franchises, they are given a period of six months from the grant of legislative franchise within which to comply with the paid capital requirement,” the bill said.
It also said the certificate of transportation network companies (TNC) accreditation shall be granted to TNCs providing Internet-based digital technology application or digital platform technology to facilitate transportation of passengers.
The bill said a TNC, prior to its application for accreditation by the LTA, must first secure a franchise from Congress.
Aside from the LTO and LTFRB, the bill also proposes the abolition of the Traffic Enforcement Group of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. All properties, assets and liabilities, all powers, functions and duties, rights and courses of actions of these agencies will be transferred to the proposed LTA.
Development program
Moreover, the measure said the LTA shall prepare the National Land Transportation Development Program, which will provide a comprehensive road map for transport development initially covering Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao and other urbanized cities and municipalities through the following but not limited to: traffic management, construction of expressways, improvement of bus and jeepney services, rationalized route structure, improved terminals and interchange facilities and proposed feasibility studies to the viability of a suburban railway system and integration of the fare structure and ticketing system between routes, as well as modes.
It said the LTA shall also evaluate and package projects and investment programs, and for this purpose, may call on any agency or organization, whether public or private, whose development plans include land transportation as an integral part thereof, to participate in the preparation and implementation of such programs.
The bill added the authority shall formulate strategies toward vehicular modernization and the establishment of a sustainable transport system. The authority may grant incentives, such as the grant of discount to registration fees to vehicles that use electric, other emission free energy sources or other forms of sustainable transport.
The LTA shall also enter into contract with domestic and foreign companies for services and products duly approved in the National Land Transportation Development Program, the measure said.
The transportation authority shall also prescribe fines and regulate routes, economically viable capacities and zones or areas of operation of public land-transportation services provided by motorized vehicles in accordance with the public land- transportation development plans and programs approved by the DOTr.
The bill said the authority’s overall directions and thrusts shall be provided and approved by the board of directors.
The measure said the authority, in coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of the Interior and Local Government and other key stakeholders and associations shall conduct a land-transportation study to determine the actual need for public transportation in the various routes to objectively determine the actual number of public buses, jeeps, taxi and other public-utility vehicles, as well as transport network vehicles, needed by the public at a certain route, road, street, locality or area, which will serve as basis for the issuance of a legislative franchise.
Efficient
The authors of House Bill (HB) 6776, led by Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, said an efficient transport system ensures the efficient movements of good and promote economic activity in both rural and urban areas, and encourages the flow of the investment that would surely enhance our country’s economic growth.
The lawmakers said the vision for the Philippine transport system was initially drawn from the declaration of policy in the creation of the LTFRB and LTO in 1987.
However, they said, important considerations should be embarked upon to create a central office tasked to maintain land transportation law and order in the Philippines.
The lawmakers said a more comprehensive transportation policy needs to take into account the varied and complex areas in the land-transportation industry, adding that existing policies affect transportation in different ways. Some policies are inadequate, ineffective and are already obsolete, they said.
“As we move toward progress, we need an LTA that will address the challenges that we are facing today,” Alvarez said.
Anti-poor
Meanwhile, Party-list Reps. Ariel Casilao of Anakpawis and Carlos Isagani Zarate of Bayan Muna labeled as “anti-poor” HB 6776 as it requires transport operators to secure a franchise from Congress and should have a minimum capitalization of P10 million for jeepneys, taxis and similar vehicles, and P30 million for buses.
Casilao warned the passage of the bill “will kill the livelihood of thousands of small and poor operators and drivers.”
Casilao said the measure will leave thousands of small operators disenfranchised.
“HB 6776 will give Congress power to approve a franchise, such power is likely to be abused and used for political and self-serving interest. Likewise, the LTO and LTFRB merging will not stop the corrupt practices of some of its officials and employees,” the Anakpawis lawmaker said.
Casilao added the only beneficiaries of HB 6776 are transport groups who are willing to compromise and act like corporate dummies of big business groups capitalizing in public transport.
“Obviously, it is giving bias to those who can afford to pay the minimum capital requirement, thus small operators are basically out of the picture,” Casilao said.
The Makabayan bloc, for its part, said it will vehemently oppose the bill “because it only largely caters to the interests of big capitalists and corporations that can afford the required huge capitalization.”