Outgoing Transportation Secretary June Abaya and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chief Winston Ginez maybe on their way out once June 30 rolls around, but it looks like they won’t be leaving their posts without having a legal tussle first. Transport group Angat Tsuper Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator ng Pilipinas Genuine Organization Transport Coalition (Stop & Go) has filed a complaint against the two outgoing heads for allowing transportation network vehicle service or TNVS like Uber and Grabcar to operate without securing a franchise as required by law.
Jun Magno, president of the Stop & Go coalition, said that the two heads were responsible for graft by giving undue advantage to Uber, Grabcar and U-hop compared to taxi operators and PUV drivers who he said has lost potential income and passengers because of the new services.
“Even before the issuance of the respondents of the said department order and memorandum circulars, it already deeply affected the rights of the complainants’ officers and members being concerned citizens, taxpayers, operators and drivers of public utility vehicles. Many taxi drivers transferred to TNVS as they could allegedly have relatively good income, passengers of taxis and AUV express decreased tremendously as commuting public tried the use of TNVS resulting to loss of income of operators and drivers of these taxis and AUV express,” the complaint read.
For his part, Ginez said that Magno’s complaint has no basis, and that the department order that allowed the TNVS to operate was well within the law.
The filing of a complaint against me and Secretary Abaya for allegedly allowing the operation of Transportation Network Vehicle Service (TNVS), such as Uber and Grab, is a desperate move by Mr. Magno of Stop & Go. After failing to convince the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City in granting his prayer for injunction against DOTC and LTFRB in implementing the Department Order and Memorandum Circulars creating TNVS as a new mode of public transportation, Mr. Magno is resorting to pernicious act of forum shopping to dissuade us from providing our commuting public with safe, reliable, convenient and comfortable transportation that is sanctioned by our existing transportation laws,” Ginez said.
