Case vs. Bernardes proceeds - MCTOA

CEBU, Philippines - The Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association (MCTOA) will pursue the case they filed against former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-7) director Romulo Bernardes despite the latter’s recent transfer to another region.

“Di mi mu-withdraw, nganung mu-withdraw man mi? Amo jud ni ipadayon. Bisan siya ma-suspension lang tulo ka buwan, duha ka semana,” said Richard Cabucos, president of MCTOA.

Last February, four taxi operators including Cabucos, Peter Corominas Marites White and Jonald Ungab, filed a case before the Regional Trial Court against Bernardes and three other officials of the LTFRB.

The complaint was filed due to LTFRB’s alleged continuous acceptance of application for new franchise claimed to be in replacement of “abandoned and expired” certificate of public convenience (CPC) pursuant to Memorandum Circular No. 2009-035 the Opening of Application for Appropriation of Abandoned and/or Expired CPC’s in the Regional Offices.

The operators asked the RTC to issue a temporary restraining order against the LTFRB officials. They also sought for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction against the officials to permanently prohibit them from implementing Memorandum Circular No. 2009-035.

To compensate for the damage the implementation of the memorandum circular has caused, operators also demanded that the LFTRB officials be ordered to pay P100,000 in actual damages, P200,000 in moral damages, and P100,000 in attorney’s fees and P2,000 for every court appearance.

For his part, Ariel Lim, head of the Public Transport Affairs of the Office of the President, said he hopes that drivers and operators will learn to forgive Bernardes, considering that the latter has already transferred to Region 3 effective May 12, switching positions with Benjamin Go, the new LTFRB-7 director.

“Sabi ko nga, magkapatawaran tayo. I hope, yung pag-upo ni Benji, kaya sinamahan ko, to make sure na ipapangako sa kanila na hindi magkaroon ng problema kagaya noon,” Lim said.

Lim recommended the transfer of Bernardes to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo after various transport groups here sent a formal complaint to the Public Transport Affairs.

“The issuance of new taxi franchises, the overcrowding of taxi units, the corresponding decrease on the income of the drivers and the favoritism on the issuance of said franchises were among those raised by complainants which eventually resulted in various taxi group protests and transport strike in the city,” Lim told Arroyo.

Lim said they will no longer conduct investigation to verify the operators’ allegations.

“Ayusin na lang ang mga problema dito. Nagbigay na rin ako ng instruction kay Benji Go na bilangin ng maayos ang mga taxi natin kung ilan talaga. Saka magkakaroon sila ng Memorandum of Agreement. Hihingan natin sila ng recommendation bago mag-issue ng bagong franchise. Di magbibigay ng prankisa kung walang recommendation ng taxi operators and their organizations,” he added.

 He said they will make sure that the allegations against Bernardes will not be repeated in Region because the latter will be kept under tight watch. 

Public urged to participate in census.

The National Statistics Office -7 is urging the public to participate in what is considered the “biggest civilian operation in the country” – the 2010 Census of Population and Housing from May 17 to June 11.

“This nationwide statistical undertaking is aimed at providing government planners, policy-makers and administrators with data on which to base their social and economic development plans and programs,” said NSO-7 Director Ariel Florendo.

“NSO appeals to each and every household to share part of their precious time for the census interview,” he said.

Over 6,500 personnel in Central Visayas will be needed to do the project. They consist of public supervisors, principals, teachers and some hired contractual employees who have undergone the five-day intensive training on the conduct of the census.

“This workforce is expected to cover 3,003 barangays in central visayas. The census will last for about 23 days,” Florendo said.

The census is authorized under Commonwealth Act 591 and Batas Pambansa Bilang 72. It is a nationwide activity undertaken every 10 years. The last CPH was last 2000.

All Filipinos, including foreigners living in the country for at least one year, shall be counted.

There will be census personnel who will visit households, including institutional living quarters, dormitories, hotels, hospitals and military camps among others.

These personnel will conduct the interview, which may take 15 to 30 minutes. Questions will cover household membership, other demographic information, social and economic characteristics of the population and the housing units.

For the safety and assurance of the respondents, the interviewers are provided with proper identification. For transparency, the public may also call NSO to verify the identity of the interviewers.

“An accurate, reliable and timely result of the 2010 CPH can only be achieved with the full cooperation of everybody especially in providing correct information to the census interviewers,” Florendo said.

“The public is assured that all information gathered through the census will be kept strictly confidential and will be published only in statistical summaries with no reference to any individual or household as provided in section 4 of Commonwealth Act,” he added.  (FREEMAN NEWS)