Transport group sues LTFRB chief

MANILA, Philippines – Transport group Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO), represented by its chairman Efren de Luna yesterday filed a graft and ethics violation complaint against Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Martin Delgra III and two other officials of the agency.

In a complaint affidavit filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, the group said Delgra and LTFRB board members Ronaldo Corpus and Aileen Lourdes Lizada committed “gross neglect of duty, inefficiency and incompetence” for failing to act on their various petitions including their motion to revert the minimum jeepney fare to P7.50.

The group said it was on May 25, 2016 when ACTO filed before the LTFRB its motion to revert the minimum jeepney fare to P7.50 and yet the agency has yet to set any hearing on it despite their subsequent filing of an urgent motion for early resolution on Oct. 7, 2016.

The group added that on Dec. 13, 2016, due to the inaction on their previous motion and because of the increasing prices of fuel, ACTO and other transport groups filed another motion for a provisional fare increase.

“To our dismay, the LTFRB remained passive on our motion and has yet to issue an order, at the very least, to set the same for hearing,” the complaint read.

The group said they also have a pending petition to increase jeepney fare during rush hours, which has been submitted for resolution since March 2016.

ACTO said government rules state all petitions must be decided within 30 after their submission for resolution.

The group said the LTFRB was prompt in allowing transport network companies such as Uber and Grab to unilaterally implement their own fare scheme, which enabled them to impose surge pricing and rush hour rates.