New LTFRB chief assumes post

MANILA, Philippines - Lawyer Winston Ginez formally assumed yesterday his post as the new chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Ginez attended the weekly flag-raising ceremony at the agency’s head office in Quezon City.

According to Ginez, the “modernization” of the transport board and intensified operations against “colorum” or unregistered and out-of-line  vehicles would be his priorities.

In an earlier interview, Ginez said he had been instructed by Transportation and Communication Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to “enhance and improve the apprehension of colorum buses.”

“One of his (Abaya’s) marching orders to me is the modernization of the LTFRB,”  Ginez said.

Ginez said he would work on streamlining the process of applications before the LTFRB, including those concerning franchises.

According to Ginez, his background as a lawyer would be very helpful in the functions of the board, noting that it is a quasi-judicial body with functions that concern the crafting of policies.

Ginez denied that his appointment was a reward for being a private prosecutor in the impeachment trial of former Supreme Court chief justice Renato Corona.

He said he believes his background in law is the reason for his appointment to the transport board.

According to Ginez, Abaya recommended him to the post following the resignation of then LTFRB chairman Jaime Jacob in March.

Ginez was class valedictorian when he graduated from the San Beda College of Law in 1995. He placed third in the Bar examinations of the same year.

He took up accounting as his pre-law, graduating magna cum laude and valedictorian in 1990. He is also a certified public accountant. – Reinir Padua, Lawrence Agcaoili