THE Philippine National Police (PNP) has warned drivers of public-utility vehicles (PUVs) to ensure strict adherence to the minimum public health standards amid continuous reports of blatant violations of the rules especially in passenger buses and jeepneys.
PNP chief General Guillermo Eleazar said policemen, particularly those from the Highway Patrol Group (HPG) and those assigned to man and supervise border control points have already been instructed to issue traffic violation tickets to the operators and drivers of PUVs especially at the National Capital Region and the adjacent provinces of Bulacan, Laguna, Rizal and Cavite.
In a memorandum issued to the Director of the HPG and the regional directors of NCRPO, PRO3 and PRO4A, the Directorate for Operations ordered policemen to issue Temporary Operators Permit (TOPs), Official Violator’s Receipt (OVR) and Traffic Citation Tickets to the violators.
“This pertains to the reports received by the Directorate (for Operations), which disclosed unabated incidents of overloading, violations of minimum public health standards and violations of allowed passenger capacity as prescribed by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) and DOTr’s guidelines committed by public utility buses and jeepneys, particularly in NCR Plus areas,” the memorandum read.