BONTOC, Mountain Province—The Cordillera Regional Development Council or RDC-CAR urged the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board to recall the numerous franchises it issued to tourist transport services in the area.
The council said the LTFRB franchises are in direct competition with already existing franchises of public utility vehicles in the provinces and cities in the different parts of the region.
Baguio City Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, who chaired the second quarter RDC-CAR meeting here, said it is unfortunate the tourist transport vehicles use Baguio as their staging area for their desired destinations, considering their point of destination is in any part of Luzon.
The absence of a designated parking area for their vehicles contribute to the constriction of traffic in the Baguio, Domogan added.
The RDC-CAR resolution requesting the cancellation of the tourist transport franchises is in response to the clamor of legitimate PUV vehicles that were issued franchises, which are now affected by the proliferation of the tourist transport vans but are operating as “garage vans” that are in direct competition with PUVs operating in the region.
Domogan also criticized the absence in the RDC meeting of the regional director or duly authorized representative of the Department of Transportation and Railways, the agency responsible on the issue.
He said agency officials must make sure their directors or authorized representatives are present during regular and special full council meetings, so that issues related to their work are given immediate action and attention when raised during the meetings.
The mayor noted the significant increase in tourist transport vans are not done in consultation with concerned local officials, so issues arising from their operations could be given immediate attention before their operation.
Legitimate bus operators in the Cordillera have questioned the DOTR-CAR and the LTFRB for their failure to act on their complaint against these tourist vans. They said the unabated issuance of certificates of public convenience or franchises to “garage vans” that directly compete with their operations is now leading to the closure of some bus companies plying various routes around the region.
The bus operators have also condemned the inaction of DOTR-CAR and LTFRB on the proliferation of “colorum” vehicles. Instead of significantly reducing their numbers, colorum vehicles have almost tripled over the past several years, they said.
