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MANILA – Drivers of transportation network companies (TNCs) Uber and Grab urged the government to lift the moratorium on the granting of franchises for transport network vehicle services (TNVS).
In a petition, they appealed to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to recognize and process their applications, especially those with the TNCs without certificate of public convenience (CPC) or provisional authority (PA).
“We agree that there should be a limit on the TNVS. However, we are appealing that those already in the platform before the suspension order be given the opportunity to be granted their CPCs and PAs because they have sufficient capital and investment,” Bobby Coronel, founder of Team Speed, told a news conference in Quezon City held to commemorate the first anniversary of the issuance of LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2016-008.
The memo directs the LFTRB’s Technical Division and regional offices not to accept any more applications for TNVS, especially those from Uber, Grab and Uhop, due to the rising volume of such applications.
“We appeal to (Transportation) secretary (Arthur) Tugade to lift the suspension to ease the concerns of drivers that they might lose their jobs,” he added.
Coronel, along with other leaders of TNVS providers – Polo Almazan (Takbong South President), Glenford Artuz (PDCom President), Aylene Paguio (Silangan Autoclub), and Glen Jacobe (Team Tiger City) – who represented 12,536 drivers, filed the petition at the office of DOTr undersecretary for road transport Tim Orbos.
He further explained that the TNCs should always replenish the supply of drivers to address the demand of the commuters.
On Tugade’s remark that TNCs should submit themselves to regulation to allow the government to collect the right taxes from them, the TNVS drivers said they have been paying taxes to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
“We have insurance coverage, NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) clearances. The drivers are subjected to drug tests. I think Secretary Tugade is being misguided,” said Efren Baltazar of Team Mandaluyong.
They have submitted the requirements for accreditation and were wondering why the LTFRB was taking a long time to process their applications, the petitioners stressed.
“We have complete requirements and have undergone trainings and seminars. … What do they still want?” Coronel said.
Hosted on online platform Change.org, the petition has garnered more than 100,000 signatures from commuters.
The LTFRB was set to create a technical working group (TWG) that will settle various concerns, such as accreditation and pending applications, accountability, and dynamic pricing scheme.
It will also put up a one-stop shop, as well as a help desk, in its central office in Quezon City to process CPCs about to expire until end of July.
Moreover, the bureau will issue a memo extending the validity of the CPC to two years and direct TNCs to extend the accreditation of their TNVS. (PNA)
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