A former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) member and now the founder of Lawyers for Commuters’ Safety and Protection will extend legal assistance to personnel of LTFRB-Central Visayas who received threats due to their active operation against colorum vehicles in the region.
Lawyer Ariel Inton Jr., said in a phone interview that their group is now studying threat incidents to find out how they could help the affected LTFRB-7 personnel, who began getting threatening text messages after they went after private vehicles that service passengers without proper franchises and permits, including those that are dispatched via the internet-based applications Uber and Grabcar.
Inton said LTFRB-7 director Ahmed Cuizon and his personnel should not be blamed since they were only enforcing the memorandum circular of LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra who, on Sept. 1, suspended the Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) applications for Uber and Grabcar.
At present, no probational authorities or franchise were issued for both services, which means that all private cars or vans that ferry passengers under Grabcar or Uber are considered to be “colorum,” operating without permits.
Inton accused Uber and Grab for failing to inform their car providers about the real score about their TNVS.
Inton said LCSP will be willing to legally assist TNVS providers who want to file charges against Grab and Uber.
“They (providers) thought that once they are accredited by Grabcar and Uber they are allowed to ply on the streets. They did not know they still need a franchise,” Inton added.
Cebu Daily News tried to contact representatives from both Grabcar and Uber but to no avail.