LAWYER Vigor Mendoza II, the chairperson of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, appears to be extra-accommodating as far as the interest of the transport sector, particularly drivers and operators, is concerned.
Unlike a few of his predecessors, Atty. Mendoza would prefer holding dialogs with them even in the streets as he would come out with solutions – right away, no red tapes!
In one of his latest moves, the LTFRB chief, armed with the instruction of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to ensure efficiency in government service and guidance of Department of Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez, has authorized drivers and operators of public utility vehicles to operate once a copy of its PA (Provisional Authority) is posted in the agency’s online verifier.
Normally, PUVs can only operate once a hard copy of the PA is secured but in a latest LTFRB board resolution, the waiting time is cut short since they can now operate once the copy of PA is uploaded in the online verifier system.
The move is part of the agency’s strict compliance to the Republic Act 11032 or the ‘Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.’
“We need the Provisional Authority to be uploaded first on the verifier system for the protection of the drivers and operators because in cases that they were flagged down, the enforcers can easily verify that they have legitimate papers to operate,” said Mendoza, a former Land Transportation Office chief.
He said the online verification is also important amid the proliferation of fake PAs and Certificates of Public Conveyance.
Through online validation, law enforcement agencies will be able to conduct an efficient crackdown against those using bogus PAs and CPCs.
The decision was also a product of Mendoza’s commitment to fast track the more than 37,000 backlogs on petitions, motions and applications that he discovered when he assumed the top LTFRB post in October.
Aside from addressing the backlogs with the decision for PUVs to operate, he said the move would also benefit the commuters.
“With this decision, we are deploying more PUVs on the road for the benefit of the commuters and this is timely because of the expected influx of passengers for the Holiday season,” he said.
May your tribe multiply Atty. Mendoza!
