A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Tuesday urged the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to fast-track the investigation on the reported anomalous practices and irregularities in the grant of franchises by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz of Abakada also urged Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya to expand the cleanup effort in the entire land-transport system, especially those involving the LTFRB’s irregular franchise issuances and the Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) allegedly anomalous plate-making contract, which has reportedly generated billions of pesos in “grease money” for certain high-ranking government officials.
Earlier, de la Cruz filed House Resolution 2208, titled “A Resolution Directing the House Committees on Transportation and Good Government and Public Accountability, to Investigate, in Aid of Legislation, the Reported Anomalous Practices and Grave Abuse of Authority of the LTFRB in the Exercise of Its Functions and the Conduct of Its Rationalization Program.”
In addition, de la Cruz said that, as early as last year, he filed a number of resolutions to investigate these reported anomalies in both the LTFRB and the LTO. According to the lawmaker, he filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman questioning the same.
It was the second complaint he had filed before the Ombudsman against the LTFRB officials for the same offense, the first one filed last year, with Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon of Kabataan as cocomplainant.
“The public has had enough of the heartaches and losses resulting from the messy and chaotic land-transport system in the country. That this is aggravated by the corrupt and wayward practices of the very officials mandated to rationalize and put order to the entire system makes things even worse. It is time Secretary Abaya cracks the whip and throw these people out,” de la Cruz said.
“During the recent hearing conducted by the Committees on Good Government and Public Accountability and Transportation,” the lawmaker added, “where the said anomalous conduct and malpractice were evidently proven and the officials of the said agency advised to show proof why they should not be held accountable for their unwarranted actions, the LTFRB officials, instead of rectifying their anomalous actions, embarked on another series of rush and haphazard actions, including giving provisional authorities to trucks with green plates and implementing its ‘No Apprehension Policy’ over the same, and suspending the implementation of colorum and out-of-line provisions policy, which ultimately resulted in traffic congestion all over Metro Manila.”
“In the hearings conducted, it was made abundantly clear that, indeed, these two agencies, particularly the LTFRB, have been remiss in their duties and were told to reform, otherwise they will be subjected to more severe sanctions,” de la Cruz said.
“The much-publicized DOTC-sanctioned LTFRB-LTO rationalization program, touted as the solution to the chaotic and utterly unresponsive provision of public land-transportation services, has been turned into one big irregular and money- making machine by the powers-that-be. It is high time Secretary Abaya put a stop to these malpractices, otherwise he may be accused of benefiting from the chaos himself and coddling these officials,” de la Cruz added.
In particular, de la Cruz cited the case of Pangasinan Solid North Corp. owned by a certain Jaime Chua, who is known to be exceptionally close to LTFRB Chairman Winston Ginez.
Documents in the de la Cruz’s possession show that Chua and his companies have been given almost carte blanche prerogatives by Ginez in utter disregard of the rules and the interests of the riding public.
Chua, who also operates Lucena Lines and for almost eight years the “bankrupt” Grandstar Lines, has violated every land-transport statute, but has hardly been sanctioned by LTFRB under Ginez, de la Cruz said.
De la Cruz also noted that no less than newly appointed LTFRB Board Member Ariel Inton has cried foul over the latest Chua-related infraction, which was papered over by Ginez himself.
In a letter dated June 16 addressed to Ginez, Inton protested the irregular issuance of the franchise of Pangasinan Solid North, claiming that Ginez tricked him and fellow Board Member Ronaldo Corpuz into affixing their signatures on a draft decision, which was supposed to be further deliberated upon. Instead of recalling the draft decision, Ginez ordered its release.
“Apparently, this latest irregular operation has become the new normal, the standard operating procedure at the LTFRB under Ginez,” de la Cruz said.
“Secretary Abaya must hold Ginez and company accountable for their misdeeds and bring them to the cleaners for corruption and abuse of authority and bringing the country’s public land transportation system to ruin,” he added.