'Explain transport strike'

MANILA, Philippines - Even as she led bus owners in denying that a strike actually occurred last Monday, Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association president Claire de la Fuente’s bus firm is among those ordered by the government to explain why they should not be sanctioned for the perceived transport holiday.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Nelson Laluces yesterday told The STAR that the Philippine Corinthian Liner Corp. – which lists De la Fuente as one of the owners – is among those with a show cause order issued by the agency. Based on records of the LTFRB, the bus firm has 119 units.

Laluces said the notice was sent out yesterday but as of this writing, he had yet to receive the return of service of the show cause order.

Sought for comment, De la Fuente maintained that the units of the company that she co-owns plied their routes last Monday.

“I have proof that our buses went out… A lot of people saw us (our buses on the roads),” she told The STAR in a separate interview.

According to De la Fuente, they are prepared to face the LTFRB and answer the show cause order issued to them.

“I didn’t lie to the media (when I said that there was no strike)… (Now) they (government) are accusing us of having gone on a strike,” she said in Filipino.

According to Laluces, they were still updating the list of buses to be notified to explain their perceived “failure or refusal to render service” to the riding public last Monday, even as some of the notices have already been sent out.

The bus companies have 72 hours upon receipt of the notice to explain in writing why should not be penalized. The first batch of bus companies will be grilled during a hearing set on Thursday next week. According to Laluces, the Philippine Corinthian is not included in the first batch of companies.

Bus operators announced the supposed strike a week before Nov. 15 to protest the implementation of the number coding scheme covering bus units. But the day before the strike, the LTFRB warned bus operators against doing so. Laluces cited the Public Service Act, which he said makes it “unlawful to refuse or withhold its service when it is reasonably demanded.”

Laluces said sanctions could range from fines or suspension of the franchise to the eventual cancellation of the unit’s certificate of public conveyance.

As thousands of commuters were stranded on Monday, the bus operators denied there was a strike, saying their plan had been called off.

They said most of the bus units that were absent from the road were the ones covered by the number coding scheme. They also said the decision calling off the planned strike came so late in the day that some of the operators were not informed and the drivers of these operators did not report for work, thinking the strike was still on.