No standing? Bus passengers lie down

CEBU, Philippines —  Photos of passengers lying down on the aisle of a bus bound for northern Cebu made rounds on the social media yesterday, incidentally a few days after authorities declared a stricter implementation of “No Standing” policy in buses plying provincial routes.

The photos, posted on the Facebook account of Lyndon Palencia, featured at least three persons sleeping on the aisle of the bus which was headed to northern Cebu.

The photos came with the captions: “BAWAL ANG MAG BAROG SULOD SA BUS. DI MUHIGDA NALANG. Kagabie while niuli ko padung sa amoa. (Standing onboard a bus is prohibited. So why not lie down? This happened yesterday while I was on the way home).”

As of 5 p.m. yesterday, the post had earned 2,600 reactions and 493 comments, and shared more than 4,300 times. Palencia later decided to delete his post.

In an online chat, Palencia told The FREEMAN that the bus was already full but the three passengers insisted to board.

In fact, he added, the bus conductor had told them to just catch the next trip, which was midnight on Saturday.

Because they insisted, they were allowed in and given monobloc chairs to sit in, which was fine with the passengers.

The next thing Palencia knew, the three were already lying down on the floor, apparently because they were already tired as it was already late night Friday.

Palencia clarified that the conductor, driver, and passengers were all aware of the “No Standing” policy of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The FREEMAN repeatedly tried to contact LTFRB-7 Director Eduardo Montealto for comment yesterday but he did not return the text messages and calls.

The agency has recently embarked on a more stringent campaign against buses that allow passengers in even if there are no more seats available, and only to make them stand on their way to their destinations.

A penalty of P5,000 awaits violators of this rule. — Nichole Alexis A. Abas, USJ-R Intern, JMD (FREEMAN)