The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) today (August 4) released the Public Transportation Operations Protocol for the National Capital Region (NCR) under the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20, 2021.
Only Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (APOR) with valid IDs can board Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs).
The list of those allowed to travel includes:
1. Health and emergency frontline services and uniformed personnel;
2. Officials and employees of the government on official travel;
3. Duly-authorized relief and humanitarian assistance personnel;
4. Individuals traveling for medical or humanitarian reasons;
5. Passengers going to the airport;
6. Individuals crossing zones to work in permitted industries;
7. Public utility vehicle operators, drivers, conductors and essential personnel;
8. Individuals scheduled for COVID-19 Vaccination;
9. DOTr-accredited construction workers na accredited ng DOTr in quarantine related facilities and government infrastructure projects;
10. Other individuals whom the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) authorized to travel.
The DOTr will impose the maximum allowable capacity with additional restrictions on all kinds of PUVs, including the installation of non-permeable transparent barriers, seat markings designating where passengers may sit, one seat apart. Standing passengers are not allowed.
On top of these, DOTr requires PUVs to cimply with sanitary measures to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The LTFRB, along with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT) and IATF authorized personnel will conduct random daily inspections on PUV operations, offices, terminals and depots.
The transport authorities will penalize drivers and operators who violate the rules, from imposing fines and revocation of licenses.