The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has lifted the ban on the transfer of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) which is a major requirement to get a franchise for public utility vehicles (PUVs).

LTFRB chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said two of the major reasons in lifting the Memorandum Circular 2023-027, or the “Guidelines on the Transfer of Certificate of Public Convenience” is to facilitate the distribution of aid to PUV drivers and the PUV Modernization Program.

“The LTFRB is very mindful of the situation, and that is why we took careful consideration in the issuance of this circular. We needed to strike a balance between allowing a legitimate CPC transfer and at the same time deter any form of abuse,” said Guadiz.

“This way, it will be easier to distribute aid to operators such as the Pantawid Pasada or Fuel Subsidy program of the government. Also, operators can now easily join the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program since they will be able to transfer and register their vehicles much faster,” he added. 

The LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2023-027 prohibits the acceptance of application for sale and transfer, whether voluntary or involuntary, of CPC, amid reports of rampant commercialization of CPCs of ‘buy-and-sell’ operators who have abused and hijacked the franchising process by trafficking in CPCs/franchises at a huge profit instead of operating the PUVs.  

But following the petition filed by the Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas to review the memo, the LTFRB has decided to lift the restriction.

In its decision, the LTFRB Board said there is a need to lift the prohibition and instead set safeguards and parameters in the allowance of transfer of CPC to deter the fraudulent schemes the aforementioned issuance aims to avoid. 

Among the safeguards are that “the CPC subject for transfer must be valid and subsisting at the time of the application”, and that “the transfer must also cover all authorized units under the subject CPC and no fractional transfer of CPC shall be allowed”.

The Board also stressed only two transfers shall be allowed during the validity of the CPC. “provided that no transfer shall be allowed during the first year from the grant of CPC nor during the one year prior to the expiration of the validity of the CPC”.

With the decision, the LTFRB is anow also accepting applications for transfer of the CPC.