THE Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 has urged the operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to remind their drivers to not deliberately violate the minimum health protocols as doing so can be considered as reckless driving.
For its part, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 issued about 80 show cause orders and inspection report summons (IRS) to drivers and operators who violated minimum health protocols for their failure to implement social distancing and require passengers to wear masks.
LTO 7 Director Victor Emmanuel Caindec said they have been working with the public transport operators, including the modernization program operators, to implement health protocols inside their units as the penalties for violations are “very punitive.”
He said the license of the apprehended driver would be suspended if he had a history of reckless driving.
Caindec said the failure to implement the minimum health protocols in public transport constitutes reckless driving.
Caindec, however, did not give a specific figure on the number of apprehensions made by the LTO 7 and the deputized police officers because the public would accuse that the agency is making money.
The point of the apprehensions, he said, is that the LTO 7 just wants the drivers to comply so the country could get over the crisis fast.
He said it had been acknowledged that some transmissions came from public transport.
He said as of now, the PUV drivers were “generally compliant” with the guidelines, but the violations mostly happened in areas where no regular checkpoints were conducted.
Some air-conditioned PUV units in Cebu usually do not turn off their air conditioning system from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., disregarding the ventilation rule.
He said apprehensions usually take place in the provinces during checkpoints conducted by the police.
Overloading woes
Meanwhile, Montealto said they issued 35 show cause orders and 32 inspection report summons (IRS) to drivers caught overloading.
He said show cause orders are issued if the violations are reported to them through text lines by the public, while IRS are issued if the LTFRB personnel themselves caught the violators.
Both show cause orders and IRS give the opportunity for the operators and drivers to explain themselves and contest the complaints before they are fined.
He said the penalty for the first offense is P5,000, the second offense is P10,000, and the third offense is P15,000 with suspension of license.
The LTFRB 7, said Montealto, has yet to apprehend “colorum” operators, or those operating without special permits.
Governor’s order
During a meeting with law enforcers at the Capitol, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has ordered the Cebu Police Provincial Office (CPPO) to conduct checkpoints along the national highway to check PUVs.
As of 10 a.m. Aug. 11, the checkpoints were only conducted in Talisay City, Minglanilla and Carcar City.
Garcia wants buses and minibuses to be inspected first.
The CPPO personnel may conduct random inspections on private vehicles, but not during rush hour to avoid traffic jams.
Garcia also questioned the erroneous reporting of some CPPO units. She took the Ronda Police Station as an example—it sent a report that it had inspected an overcrowded bus, but the accompanying picture shows a police officer standing on the bus with a few passengers. The photo could be old.
CPPO Director Col. Engelbert Soriano said they will comply with the governor’s instructions. (WBS, MVE)