Franchise cancellation hearing set for next week

CEBU, Philippines – The series of hearings for the cancellation of hundreds of franchises that were illegally issued by some unscrupulous personnel of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas will formally start on Thursday next week.

LTFRB-7 regional director Benjamin Go said he will preside the hearings on October 21 and 26 because he can no longer trust the hearing officers of LTFRB who may also face investigation about the questionable issuance of the illegal franchises.

Go said he had already asked some representatives of the Manila-based LTFRB and Land Transportation Office-7 to appear and to observe the proceedings. The media is also welcome to cover the event, he said.

The first day of the hearings on Thursday will discuss how the three taxi operators in Metro Cebu were granted new Certificates of Public Convenience, otherwise known as franchises, for their about 50 units despite the fact that the move was already suspended in 2003.

Go refused yet to divulge the names of the operators for now.

"Mahibawan ra na unya basta mga big fish ni sila sa industriya ug dili ni mga makalolooy," he said.

Richard Cabucos, president of the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association, supported Go in his campaign to cancel the questionable franchises.

"Every succeeding week there will be hearings, every week naa'y kanselahon nga franchise. Sunod-sunod na ang naka-schedule nato nga hearings for franchise cancellations, I estimate that we will cancel mga gatusan kabuok g'yud," said the LTFRB-7 director.

When the number of issued franchise in LTFRB-7 reached 4,000 in 2003, the LTFRB-Manila ordered to suspend the issuance of franchises to taxi units for Metro Cebu.

But some unscrupulous LTFRB-7 officials defied the order and continued to issue taxi franchises, which Go described as a source of graft and corruption.

Because Go does not want to trust his hearing officers to preside the hearings The FREEMAN asked him whether he could attend to all of them.

"Kakayanin ko because I have no choice, pero nangayo na ko'g tabang sa Manila. One hearing can cover many units because one franchise may have so many units under it, in one hearing possible nga 50 units ang kanselahon," Go explained.

For the third time, Go has requested the assistance and intervention of its central office to conduct an urgent audit of all taxi and tourist car franchise in the region.

Go's letter dated October 13, 2010 addressed to LTFRB Chairman Nelson Laluces is also aimed at following up his previous requests for an urgent audit on August 23, 2010 and September 30, 2010, both of which were not answered.

This prompted Go to start conducting his own random audit which resulted in the discovery of so many anomalous and illegal transactions which believed to be consummated in previous years before he assumed office on May 13, 2010. -/BRP (FREEMAN)