The Land Transportation Regulatory and Franchising Board (LTFRB) will continue its no apprehension policy on trucks for hire, but only until August 15 from the original August 29 deadline.
LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez said that from August 16, trucks with a green plate and with no provisional authority found plying the roads will be apprehended and fined P200,000 by LTFRB under Joint Administrative Order 2014-01 it issued with the Department of Transportation and Communications and Land Transportation Office (LTO).
The provisional authority to operate pending approval of application for a franchise will be in effect until October 17, 2014.
The no apprehension deadline was amended last week at a Cabinet meeting attended by Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Transport Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino, Philippine Ports Authority General Manager Juan Sta. Ana, LTO chief Alfonso Tan, Jr., and LTFRB’s Ginez.
The meeting was held after MMDA and Metro Manila mayors questioned memorandum circulars recently issued by LTFRB which they claimed caused traffic along C5 Road and Katipunan Avenue.
These issuances include Memorandum Circular Numbers 2014-009 and 2014-010, which suspend operations against colorum buses and allow out-of-line operators of public utility buses to modify their routes and pass through major thoroughfares, such as EDSA, from June 19 to October 17.
There is also the no apprehension policy on trucks issued on June 17, whose duration had been extended to August 29. The ruling is designed to ensure there are enough trucks on the road to service trade and consequently help decongest the ports of Manila. But it gave rise to much confusion, with some operators interpreting the ruling as allowing trucks without a provisional authority to operate as they please.
Ginez said Cabinet members upheld LTFRB’s position that a provisional authority does not exempt trucks from the truck ban or traffic regulations of MMDA and Metro Manila local government units (LGU).
The Cabinet members also allowed LTFRB to continue rationalizing provincial and city bus routes in Metro Manila in coordination with MMDA and metro LGUs.
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