LTFRB 7 impounds 2 Uber cars; warns MR did not lift suspension

On the same day that the management of the transport network company Uber directed its partner-drivers to resume operation, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) proceeded to nab two drivers of private cars who used the Uber app to connect with paying commuters.

LTFRB-7 Director Ahmed Cuizon said they took into custody Uber drivers Dennis Juanite and Brian Estillore and impounded their cars, both Toyota Vios, for still operating despite the board’s order to suspend Uber’s operation for one month.

Juanite and Estillore were apprehended near a mall along General Maxilom Avenue, Cebu City, at around 5 p.m. after they were approached by LTFRB personnel who acted as passengers and booked a trip using Uber. Their vehicles are now kept at the LTFRB office.

Juanite and Estillore, who were also brought to the LTFRB office, both refused to give a statement to the media.

Cuizon said Uber and its drivers should follow the suspension order issued by LTFRB even if a motion for reconsideration has been filed by Uber.

“We are warning Uber drivers and operators. We will not hesitate to apprehend, impound, and penalize those who will violate the suspension order,” he told Cebu Daily News in a text message on Tuesday.

Any Uber driver who continues to operate while the suspension is in effect will be considered a “colorum,” which means the vehicle is operating illegally. Each violator will have to pay a P120,000 fine and the vehicle will be impounded for three months, Cuizon said.

LTFRB ordered Uber’s one-month suspension after it found out that the company violated the LTFRB order to stop accepting and accrediting new drivers pending the resolution to the government regulator’s issues with the company.

But Uber Philippines resumed its operations on Tuesday afternoon after it filed a motion for reconsideration to the suspension order.

“In response to overwhelming rider and driver demand, we have filed a motion for reconsideration with the LTFRB,” Uber Philippines said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.

“This means that Uber’s operations will continue until the motion is resolved. Consequently, we will be resuming serving Metro Manila and Cebu,” it added.

However, Cuizon said the motion does not automatically lift, reverse or stall the suspension order.

“The board will still have to convene and decide on the MR (motion for reconsideration). Meanwhile, the suspension order remains effective,” he said.

LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III also stressed that the filing of a motion for reconsideration will not lift the suspension order.

“The order stands,” he told CDN in a text message.