Bus firms: We’ll go to court

Passenger bus operators will challenge in court the legality of the "number coding" scheme of the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), insisting that there was no legal basis for its implementation.

Eleonor Santos, president of North East Manila Bus Operators Group (NEMBO), said the MMDA did not observe the proper procedure before including buses in the re-implementation of the coding system yesterday.

"We were not even consulted. The MMDA just decided on its own to include us in the coding program. I don’t think it’s fair," she told The STAR.

Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association (IMBOA) head Claire de la Fuente also vowed to resist the coding scheme.

According to Santos, 38 of the 246 buses she owned, which were supposed to be banned yesterday, were still dispatched, in defiance of the MMDA’s directive.

Santos added that NEMBO lawyers are now studying what legal action it could take against MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando for the "unreasonable" coding program. – Sheila Crisostomo