Two government agencies appealed to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to suspend the implementation of the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) for public utility vehicles (PUVs) that will be allowed to ply their routes for the opening of the face-to-face classes on Monday, August 22.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), in a joint statement Sunday, August 21, said the appeal was made in consideration of the expected increase in the number of passengers when in-person classes begin nationwide.
The DOTr said that it sent a letter to the MMDA last August 19 to formalize their request as the department opens more routes to encourage PUVs to operate.
Meanwhile, the LTFRB said it released on August 18 Memorandum Circular No. 2022-067 to authorize the opening of 33 city public utility bus (PUB) routes, and MC No. 2022-068 to allow the opening of 68 public utility jeepney (PUJ) routes and 32 UV Express (UVE) routes so that the transport industry could cope up with the anticipated increase in passenger demand on the first day of classes.
The LTFRB said that the PUV units which will operate on Monday in their opened routes have no Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) yet, a type of regulatory compliance certification for public service industries.
However, the PUV units will be given a special permit (SP) which will allow them to operate while the LTFRB has yet to decide on the opening of the application of CPC in routes that are still under its Route Rationalization Study.
“Dahil dito, naisipan ng DOTr at LTFRB na makiusap sa MMDA na huwag hulihin ang mga PUV na bibiyahe sa mga naturang ruta (Because of this, the DOTr and LTFRB appeal to MMDA not to catch PUVs that will travel in the said routes),” their statement read.
Meanwhile, the MMDA said they already talked to the DOTr and assured them that no PUV will be apprehended since the opened routes need no CPC.
The PUVs will also be exempted from the Number Coding Scheme of the MMDA, it added.
“Pero iginigiit ng MMDA na hindi exempted ang mga PUV sa paglabag sa mga batas-trapiko at tinitiyak nila na mananagot ang mga pasaway na PUV drivers sa kalsada (But the MMDA insists that PUV units are not exempted from violations of traffic rules, adding that erring drivers will be punished),” it said.