LTFRB suspends 4 more bus firms for wildcat strike

MANILA, Philippines –  Four more bus operators were penalized with six months’ suspension of their franchises for a transport strike against the number-coding scheme last November that stranded thousands of commuters in Metro Manila.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), in separate resolutions, suspended operator Eduardo Palma (31 units) and firms City Bus Inc. (36 units), Voyager Express Liner Inc. (11 units), and E&E Royal Couple Bus Inc. (10 units).

LTFRB chairman Nelson Laluces and board members Manuel Iway and Julius Garcia unanimously approved the resolutions, which form part of the second batch of operators sanctioned by the board over the strike.

Two weeks ago, the LTFRB cancelled the certificate of public conveyance of Philippine Corinthian Liner Corp., whose owners include singer Claire de la Fuente, president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association. The franchises of three other bus firms were also suspended.

In the case of Palma, the LTFRB said he should have had eight units on the road on the day of Nov. 15, 2010 strike – some of the units were previously suspended while some were covered by the number-coding scheme.

According to a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) report, only three of Palma’s units were plying their route and Palma “failed to provide any explanation for the non-dispatch of the remaining five units,” the LTFRB said.

As for City Bus Inc., the company should have had 30 units on the road on the day of the strike as only four were covered by the number-coding scheme.

“It (bus firm) claims that it was its drivers and conductors who refused to proceed with their regular trips due to the threat/violence employed by some people as a means of inducing respondent’s drivers and conductors to join the strike,” the resolution said.

The LTFRB ruled that the company “was responsible for the acts of its drivers and conductors.”

Voyager Express Liner Inc. failed to show that any of its 11 bus units was covered by the number-coding scheme on the day of the strike, according to the board.

Regarding E&E Royal Couple, the firm has 10 units and only four of these were covered by the number-coding scheme on the day of the strike. The company claimed it dispatched its bus units but their drivers and conductors were allegedly threatened into joining the strike. But the board also ruled that the company was responsible for the act of its drivers.

According to Iway, the companies cannot simply cite their right to free speech in staging the strike to protest the number-coding scheme.

“Bus operators should be reminded that public transport is imbued with public interest… and is subject to regulation,” Iway said.