A bill proposing to abolish the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) and consolidate their functions into one agency to be called the Land Transportation Authority (LTA) has been filed in the Philippine Lower House.
House Bill (HB) No. 6776 orders the repeal of Executive Orders No. 202 and No. 226, which created the LTFRB and LTO, respectively, and mandates the creation of the LTA that will assume the functions of the two agencies.
In its explanatory note, the bill noted that “important considerations should be embarked on to create a central agency that will consolidate the functions of LTO and LTFRB, in order to avoid confusion as to which agency is asked to maintain land transportation law and order in the Philippines.”
It added that “a more comprehensive transportation policy needs to take into account the varied and complex areas in the land transportation industry,” noting that some policies have already become inadequate, ineffective, or obsolete.
The proposed law will apply to all public land transportation entities in the country.
LTA’s functions will include preparing the National Land Transportation Development Program that will provide a comprehensive roadmap for transport development, initially covering Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro Davao, and all other urbanized cities and municipalities.
The roadmap will cover traffic management, construction of expressways in both intercity and urban areas, improvement of public utility bus (PUB) and public utility jeepney (PUJ) services, rationalization of route structures, improvement of transport terminals and interchange facilities, and undertaking of feasibility studies on the viability of a suburban railway system and the integration of the fare structure and ticketing system between routes as well as modes.
LTA will also formulate strategies towards vehicular modernization and the establishment of a sustainable transport system. It may also grant incentives such as discount in registration fees for vehicles that use electric and other emission-free energy sources, or incentives for other forms of sustainable transport.
LTA will also establish emission control measures and standards, and implement road safety inspection and maintenance works to achieve a smoke-free, accident-free, and effective road safety management system. It should also establish at least one Motor Vehicle Inspection System in each region initially, in order to determine compliance with emission controls, standards, and road worthiness of all public and private vehicles.
The proposed agency will also have the mandate to issue, amend, revise, suspend, or cancel Certificates of Public Convenience or permits authorizing the operation of public land transportation services provided by motorized vehicles, and to prescribe the terms and conditions of such certificates.
In coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Interior and Local Government, and other stakeholders, the LTA shall conduct a land transportation study to determine the actual need for public transportation in various routes in order to objectively determine the number of public utility vehicles (PUVs) needed on a certain route. This study will be the basis for issuing legislative franchise.
The proposed agency will be attached to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), and managed by a director general with the rank equivalent to an assistant secretary. The director general must have sufficient knowledge and background in land transportation management, and shall be appointed by the President to serve for a fixed term of four years.
LTA will also have a Board if Directors, which will be its governing and policymaking body, led by a chairman with the rank of an undersecretary.
Under the proposed law, the minimum capitalization requirement to get a franchise will be P30 million for PUBs, and P10 million for PUVs, PUJs, taxis, and other similar services.
Transport network companies, defined as companies providing pre-arranged transportation services using an internet-based digital platform to connect drivers with passengers, will have to be accredited with the LTA.
Under the proposed law, LTO and LTFRB, the traffic enforcement group of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, will be abolished. All the properties, assets and liabilities, powers, functions and duties, rights and courses of actions vested by law or exercised by the would-be abolished agencies will be transferred to LTA.
HB No. 6776—authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and representatives Cesar Sarmiento, Juan Pablo Bondoc, Bayani Fernando, Anna Katrina Enverga, Renato Unico, Jr., Winston Castelo, Emi Calixto-Rubiano, and Alfred Vargas—has been referred to the Lower House Transportation Committee where it is now pending.
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