Leaders of the transport sector on Wednesday called on the House of Representatives to swiftly pass the proposed Magna Carta of Commuters, saying that protection of commuters should be considered as a legislative priority.
In a hearing conducted by the House Committee on Transportation, authors of the legislative proposals backed the decision to consolidate their bills that define the rights and duties of commuters using public utility vehicles.
Ten bills providing for a Magna Carta for Commuters have been filed by Reps. Claudine Diana Bautista (Dumper PTDA); Alfred Vargas (PDP-Laban, Quezon City); Florencio “Bem” Noel (An Waray); Yedda Marie Romualdez (Tinggog Sinirangan); Jose Francisco Benitez (NPC, Negros Occidental) and Ruffy Biazon (PDP-Laban, Muntinlupa City), among other authors.
Bautista, vice chairperson of the transportation panel, said passage of the measure will benefit majority of Filipinos who rely on public transport to go to their destinations.
Bautista noted the current pandemic situation has added to the inconvenience and difficulties facing commuters even during normal times.
“This is not to mention isolated incidents of chaos in PUVs initiated by passengers themselves, such as the recent episode involving a passenger who set fire to a bus conductor inside a public utility bus and threatened the lives of all the passengers inside and nearby the vehicle,” she said.
“The dangers our commuters face is undeniable and has become so common, it has sometimes even been dismissed as a normal part of riding our PUVs,” Bautista lamented.
The lady lawmaker filed House Bill 5992 or the Magna Carta of Commuters providing for measures that would ensure the protection and security of commuters while aboard PUVs.
The bill proposes guaranteed basic rights for commuters which are: right to safety; right to sanitary transportation services; right to special attention during service breakdowns and right to information for effective and convenient travel.
PUV drivers led by Roberto Martin of Pasang Masda and Mar Valbuena of Manibela called for the immediate approval the measures, saying that the country’s transportation sector is in full support of the bills.
Samar Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento, chairman of the transportation panel, stressed that approval of the bill is urgent, thus, the ten separate measures should be consolidated by a technical working group.
On the other hand, representatives from the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Metro Manila Development Authority declared that they have no objection to the passage of the measure.