MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will start apprehending today jeepneys that failed to meet the consolidation require ment.
LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said that the 15-day grace period since the April 30 deadline is over, effectively making over 10,000 jeepney units nationwide colorum vehicles.
The figure includes 1,900 unconsolidated units in Metro Manila alone, which wil l be considered as illegally operating as their franchises have lapsed.
“We can now flag down and we can apprehend drivers or vehicles because the grace period we had given them had already lapsed, so that those that were unconsolidated can no longer travel,” Guadiz said.
He added that the LTFRB had already issued show cause ord ers for the unconsolidated operators and drivers, and that the agency could begin apprehensions.
Drivers could face a one-year suspension of their license, as well as a hefty fine of P50,000 in penalties and 30-day impounding of their vehicles if caught in colorum operations.
The LTFRB said that it would require consolidated units to have their documents posted on their windshields for proper identification of vehicles.
Three to four critical areas in Metro Manila d o not have consolidated units on their routes, according to Guadiz. This will be addressed by getting units from other routes to serve the affected areas.
“What we did was to issue a special order on the routes to fill those that were not able to have consolidated jeepneys. We had already fixed it,” he said.
Transport groups Manibela and Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) are still asking the Supreme Court to suspend the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).
The groups are asking the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) to allow unconsolidated operators to continue plying their routes.
Guadiz said they would respect the decision of the court if it does issue a TRO.
“We will allow the return of the 1,900 unconsolidated jeepney units to the roads,” he added.
Deputized
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has deputized traffic enforcers from some cities in Metro Manila to enforce traffic laws.
The MMDA had deputized traffic enforcers from the cities of Malabon, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, San Juan, Navotas, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Quezon City and the municipality of Pateros, according to information from the agency.
The MMDA had also issued identification cards to the undisclosed number of enforcers.
The delegation of traffic law enforcement is pursuant to an SC ruling in July last year that ordered local government units in Metro Manila to stop issuing traffic violation tickets and instead let the MMDA do the job through its single ticketing system.
Deputizing local traffic enforcers is the MMDA’s way of obeying the decision since its current manpower of 2,500 traffic enforcers is not enough to enforce traffic laws in the metropolis, according to MMDA acting Chairman Romando Artes.
The agency has yet to confirm or deny if the delegation of Metro Manila traffic enforcers is related to the apparent crackdown on jeepneys that failed to undergo franchise consolidation under the government’s PUVMP.
However, during its road clearing operations yesterday in areas in the cities of Pasay and Parañaque, particularly along EDSA, Macapagal Boulevard, NIA Road, Sucat Road and Tramo, MMDA enforcers issued tickets to some drivers of jeepneys, according to photos shared by the MMDA with media.
The drivers, however, were apprehended because of illegal parking along the Roxas Boulevard service road and not because they have been flagged as colorum.
The MMDA’s traffic enforcers apprehended 35 motorists, while 12 vehicles were towed during operations in Pasay and Parañaque, according to the agency.
Last month, the MMDA, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Transportation entered into a partnership aimed to intensify the campaign against unauthorized or colorum PUVs.
Under a task force against colorum PUV operators, violators shall be penalized with fines of up to P1 million as well as criminal charges.
The MMDA explained that the deputization of traffic enforcers has nothing to do with the government’s impending crackdown on colorum PUVs.
It stressed it is an “offshoot” of the SC decision. – Ghio Ong
MANILA, Philippines — Employees of the National Food Authority whose suspension over the anomalous sale of the country’s rice buffer stock has been lifted by the Office of the Ombudsman will receive backpay upon their reinstatement, according to the NFA.
NFA acting administrator Larry Lacson yesterday said the computation of backpay of the 72 reinstated employees would start from the date of effectivity of their suspension.
“We are happy and thankful to the ombudsman for lifting the suspension,” Lacson told The STAR yesterday.
In a 23-page order dated May 10, the ombudsman said the primary purpose of a preventive suspension is to preserve documents and pieces of evidence, which may be under the control or custody of the respondents.
“The submission by the NFA management of all documents to the ombudsman helped in the immediate lifting of the suspension,” Lacson said.
Reinstated employees will receive their salaries and other benefits starting from April 15, he said.
Lacson expressed hope the suspension of other NFA employees, who are not part of the controversy, would also be lifted.
“We want (other suspended) employees to return to work, especially if they are innocent,” he said.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the ombudsman’s decision would allow the NFA to open warehouses that remain padlocked and help procure additional palay supply.
Tiu Laurel said the agency’s own investigation into the sale of buffer stocks should be completed soon, and the results would be submitted to the ombudsman.
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture is eyeing to develop untapped areas in the West Philippine Sea to boost the country’s fish production and lessen dependence on importation, a ranking official said yesterday.
In an interview with The STAR, Agriculture Undersecretary for policy, planning and regulations Asis Perez said that there are still unexplored resources in the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
“The fishers do not need to go in areas where there is a threat (of Chinese vessels). The West Philippine Sea is so vast so (the harassment of Chinese) should not deter us. What I am saying is, there are still areas that are relatively peaceful and unexplored. We can tap these areas if we have enough incentives for them (fishers) to do that,” he added.
Perez said commercial fishers should be encouraged to operate in the West Philippine Sea.
“There are not enough (commercial fishers) that operate in the West Philippine Sea. One of the limitations is the tax component these Philippine vessels need to pay to the government. We can assign these ships, private holders in those areas. They can fish there but again, the government needs to provide the incentive as the government is not involved in fishing,” he said.
Perez noted that millions of dollars are being spent every year to import fish.
“We should explore our untapped resources so that there is no need for us to import fish,” he noted.
Perez, a former director of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, vowed to push for the development of the WPS for fishing.
“We know our limitations, but within those limitations, there are areas with no limitations,” Perez said, referring to the presence of Chinese ships in the West Philippine Sea.
MANILA, Philippines — A new university under the University of the Philippines system is currently in the works, UP president Angelo Jimenez disclosed yesterday.
Jimenez said the university is laying the groundwork for what could be the 10th university in the UP System by connecting the marine and ocean programs in UP Diliman and UP Visayas.
He added that the pooling of programs in the Marine Science Institute of UP Diliman and the Fisheries and Oceans Program of UP Visayas would give birth to “an archipelagic and oceanic virtual university.”
“It will become the 10th UP university in our system. This initiative aims to enhance existing program offerings, introduce digital ad virtual platforms and develop transdisciplinary courses,” Jimenez announced during the National Higher Education Day Summit in Pasay City.
The UP president said the premier state university plans to collaborate with other state universities and colleges, foreign universities with similar programs and various maritime industry stakeholders to craft curricula and roadmaps for research and innovation.
These will be aimed at developing “the Blue Economy and the Archipelagic Nation by 2050 in alignment with Pagtanaw 2050,” according to Jimenez, referring to the Department of Science and Technology’s foresight and strategic planning project.
The Science, Technology, and Innovation or STI roadmap under Pagtanaw 2050 aims to make the country a “prosperous, archipelagic, maritime nation characterized by a society that is inclusive, productive, sustainable, educated and healthy.”
As Philippine universities fell in the recent Asia university rankings, President Marcos yesterday called for a “comprehensive” and “all-encompassing” strategy to further improve the state of tertiary education in the country.
In his speech at the National Higher Education Day Summit in Pasay City, Marcos lamented the exclusion of Philippine universities in this year’s Times Higher Education (THE) Asia University Rankings.
“Unfortunately, no Philippine university has reached Top 100, with the country’s top schools either dropping or maintaining their rankings,” he said. “This just goes to show that much work is still to be done. We must pursue a comprehensive and all-encompassing strategy that will turn this trend around.”
As of December last year, however, at least 81 higher educational institutions (HEIs) had been included in various world university rankings, which is higher than 52 in July last year, according to the President.
He emphasized that improving higher education and making it responsive to the present and future needs of society is “front and center” of his administration’s national development agenda.
“Giving the youth the right competencies and skills and training is the only way for them to prevail and to prosper in this highly competitive world,” Marcos said.
“Without an educated workforce that will implement them, any national economic blueprint will remain simply that – blueprints. We will not have the means or the capacity or the labor force to be able to make those plans realities,” he added.
The success of the country’s development agenda relies heavily on the availability of a strong, resilient and skilled human resource, according to the Chief Executive.
He also gave assurance that his government remains committed to the continuing provision of free tertiary education in public universities and colleges for qualified students under the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.
“We have allocated close to P134 billion for our state and local universities and colleges this year so that more students can receive free tertiary education and more families will be eased of the burden of having to pay for college,” Marcos said.
As of Jan. 4, there are 1,977 HEIs in the country. Of the figure, 113 are state universities and colleges, 137 are local universities and colleges, 1,714 are private HEIs and 13 are other government schools, Commission on Higher Education (CHED)-supervised institutions and special schools.
Ateneo de Manila University placed in the 401-500 bracket based on the recently published THE Asia rankings.
UP placed in the 501-600 bracket from last year’s 201-250.
De La Salle University remained in the 501-600 bracket, while University of Santo Tomas entered the rankings in the 601+ bracket, tied with Mapúa University. – Helen Flores, Pia Lee-Brago