'Tinulugan?': New LTFRB chair discovers over 37,000 pending motions, petitions
Over 37,000 motions and petitions relating to public utility vehicles (PUVs), some filed over two years ago, remain pending at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The thousands of pending petitions is seen as one of the reasons for the worsening public transportation in the country, which Department of Transportation (DOTr) acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez described as “chaotic and like war.”
LTFRB chairperson Vigor D. Mendoza II said 34,000 of those petitions and motions are pending before the LTFRB Board while around 4,000 are pending in various divisions of the agency.
“Secretary Lopez was bothered by this report and he immediately ordered us to solve the backlog in the soonest possible time since this may have something to do with the public transportation problems not only in Metro Manila but also in other parts of the country,” said Mendoza.
The pending petitions and motions were discovered after Mendoza ordered an accounting of all pending legal documents when he assumed the top LTFRB post early this month.
This also stemmed from the complaints raised by transport groups during several dialogues in the past few weeks.
“We have to put this problem to rest because by doing so, this will certainly lead to easing the burden by both the commuters and those from the transport sector, particularly operators and drivers of public utility vehicles,” said Mendoza.
In order to expedite addressing the backlog, Mendoza said all division chiefs were ordered to solve the 4,000 pending motions and petitions in 30 days.
“On the part of the LTFRB Board, we will employ all means to sign off all the orders and decisions on or before December 15 (2025),” said Mendoza.
And in order not to add more on the thousands of backlog, Mendoza, under the guidance of Secretary Lopez, issued a policy to resolve newly-filed motions and petitions within 15 days after the date of filing.
Mendoza said he will personally monitor the progress of all the pending motions and petitions to ensure compliance