MMDA chair bats for favorable SC decision on TRO request vs new bus policy

MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Francis Tolentino on Tuesday expressed confidence that the Supreme Court (SC) will issue a favorable decision on the petition filed on Monday by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the national government agencies and the MMDA from preventing the entry of passenger buses from the Bicol region into Metro Manila and restricting them to a common terminal in Muntinlupa City.

Tolentino said he is optimistic that the high court will decide in favor of the government’s public service mandate.

Tolentino said under the Public Service Act, government projects are not covered by TROs. He however welcomes Salceda’s petition saying it would broaden jurisprudence on the definition of “public convenience.”

“So I look forward to that day when we will be asked by the SC to reply but historically, when we were likewise attempted to be TRO’d when we opened the Southwest Interim Provincial terminal, the High Court did not lift a finger on several petitions filed,” said Tolentino in a statement.

Tolentino also did not discount the possibility of Salceda having been misinformed on the real issues surrounding the measure. Tolentino said the provincial buses being stopped are colorum and out-of-line ones.

“I think the facts will sustain us because these buses are colorums, out-of-line, so what happened is that every time they traverse EDSA, or enter Magallanes, or Buendia, or EDSA-Pasay-Taft, they are apprehended. What happens is that the riders will be asked to disembark the bus because the bus will be impounded,” he said.

“I think everybody knows that we in government are doing everything possible to solve the traffic congestion problem along EDSA and other major thoroughfares because this has become a social malaise affecting the lives of our people and the efficient delivery of goods in the country,” Tolentino added.

Tolentino said what the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) did was to rationalize the bus franchises and decided that the best end point would be in Alabang instead of the impounding areas.

“I think the facts sway positively in favor of the government because it is providing convenience to those coming from the Bicol region, to board a legitimate bus with a franchise ending in a recognized terminal,” he said. Tolentino added that franchised buses would not be stopped under the scheme.

In a petition for prohibition and mandamus, Salceda said that the bus scheme which, according to him was enforced without consultation, discriminated against ordinary rural folk who take the bus such as students, traders and those with relatives in Metro Manila.

Named respondents in the petition were the LTFRB and its chair Winston Ginez; the MMDA and Tolentino; and the Muntinlupa City government and Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi.

The MMDA and LTFRB inaugurated on Aug. 27 the South Interim Provincial Terminal, a common terminal at the Alabang South Station for all buses coming from Bicol and Southern Tagalog provinces.

“They can’t just do this to us.  They’re turning us into scapegoats.  It’s as if being rural folk is something to be ashamed of. If you look at the government data, there are only 5,600 buses out of the more than seven million registered vehicles in the country,” Salceda said, adding that only 236 buses are plying Manila-Bicol routes.

Salceda said the “abrupt and unconscionable change” in the routes of the buses,  would cause “economic disruption, gross inconvenience and unnecessary expenses” for him and his constituents.

Salceda noted that all buses in Albay have their own terminals in Metro Manila and have even entered into lease contracts for the lots they were using.

“The people who are riding the bus are the ones who can’t afford to ride in a plane. When you hurt the bus companies, you hurt the passengers. What do they want— that we all ride in planes?” he said.

Salceda said the LTFRB, MMDA and other agencies should have studied the scheme well.

“They should be the first to know about the empirical bases of their policies. It seems they can’t solve the traffic problem so they are making us their scapegoats,” he said.