LTFRB may sanction bus firms in strike before Christmas

Some of the bus firms that took part in last week's bus strike that stranded some 8,500 people in Metro Manila may get sanctions before Christmas. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) hinted at this Friday after it started hearings on the first batch of bus firms linked to the Nov. 15 strike. "Batch by batch ito, may nauna, baka magkaroon ng desisyon kaagad (We are conducting hearings on the bus operators by batch. We are working to decide on the cases soonest)," LTFRB chairman Nelson Laluces said in an interview on dzBB radio. On Thursday, the LTFRB heard the cases of eight bus operators comprising the first batch. Initial reports showed some 100 operators took part in the strike. Last Nov. 15, bus firms refused to ply their routes to protest a number-coding scheme of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority. Some of the operators denied their action constituted a strike, after the bus firms came under heavy criticism from the public. Laluces said they are now studying the position papers submitted by the first batch of bus firms. "Wala nang formal trial na may testigo ... Ia-assess namin ang explanation as against the records of MMDA as well as our records (We will no longer hold trial-type formal hearings. We will just assess the explanation of the bus operators and compare them with the LTFRB and MMDA records)," he said. "Meron talagang di pumasada noong araw na yan, na dapat pumasada during normal operations (What is clear is that some bus firms did not ply their routes when they should have done so on that day)," he added. — RSJ, GMANews.TV