LTFRB-7 chief to PUV drivers: Plastic barriers may be gone, but still observe minimum capacity

A public utility jeepney plying Cebu City-Mandaue City routes is seen full of passengers on Monday, November 8, 2021, or days after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) no longer require the use of plastic barriers. | via Mae Fhel Gom-os

MANDAUE CITY, Cebu, Philippines — Despite Transportation Department allowing the removal of the plastic barriers inside public utility vehicles (PUVs), drivers and operators are still reminded to comply with the minimum seating capacity of each vehicle. 

Director Eduardo Montealto Jr., Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) head, said that the minimum capacity of the PUV should be complied with especially since there would be no more plastic barriers there.

 “Padayon atong 70 percent capacity just like sa NCR (National Capital Region) tungod sa di pa nato pwedeng patas-an pa kay wala nama’y barrier,” said Montealto.

(The 70 percent capacity will continue just like in the NCR (National Capital Region) because we cannot still increase the capacity because there is no more barrier.)

The regional director made the reminder after knowing that a lot of PUVs, particularly traditional jeepneys, are overloaded with passengers or plying in full capacity since the Department of Transportation (DOTr) would no longer require PUVs to have barriers separating passengers.

READ: DOTr: Plastic dividers no longer required inside jeepneys

Should they be caught violating such protocol in random inspections, Montealto said operators would be charged with P5,000.

“Permanente man atong inspections, sa kadaghan pod gamay ra pod atong mga inspectors, di gyud nato na malukop. Random ra gyud na atong ginabuhat,” he said.

(Our inspections are permanent, but because there are so many areas and our inspectors are only a few, we cannot cover them all. So we can only do random inspections.)

However, he said there were also other law enforcers from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Highway Patrol Group (HPG).

With this, Montealto urged the concerned agencies, including the local government units (LGUs) to help in the enforcement, citing that most PUV drivers and conductors had no discipline.

“Daghan man gyud ta’g mga enforcers, including sa LGU. Ato ning tabangan og enforce, paghugtan ang pag-enforce kay kasagaran karon nag-overloading na. Wala gyud ni sila’y disiplina, walay cooperation. Unya’g mobalik na pod ni’g kataas atong COVID cases, madamay man gud ta tanan kon di ta magpakabana,” he said.

(We have many enforcers, including that of the LGU. We will help in enforcing, we tighten our enforcement because most of the violations now would be overloading of passengers. They have no discipline, no cooperation. And our COVID cases will again increase, we will all be affected if we will not take action.)

He also urged the commuting public to report erring PUV drivers and conductors to their office by taking a photo of the incident and its plate number.

/dbs

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