AFTER only six months in office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Martin Delgra III is already facing charges of gross neglect of duty, graft and violation of code of ethics before the Ombudsman for his supposed failure to act on fare hike petitions.
Efren de Luna, national president of the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization, also included in the complaint sheet board members Ronaldo Corpus and Lourdes Lizada.
He also urged Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales to place Delgra under a 90-day preventive suspension.
In a four-page complaint filed before the Ombudsman, De Luna accused Delgra, Corpus and Lizada of “undue delay, inaction and efficiency” to the inconvenience of the operators, drivers and the riding public.
He alleged Delgra did not act on the petitions to reverse the minimum jeepney fare to P7.50 in May 2016 and October 2016, and another petition to implement a rush-hour rate for passenger jeepneys in Metro Manila in March 2016.
“It is frustrating that the LTFRB would not take any action on the above cases concerning PUJ fares while it allows the transport network companies (TNCs), such as Uber and Grab, to unilaterally implement its own fare scheme enabling them to impose surge pricing and rush hour rate without having undergone the mandatory process under the Public Service Act,” the complaint read.
Moreover, the LTFRB did not act on the operators’ applications for dropping and substitution.
“Without a plate, they will have no source of income. The continued delay in acting upon these applications affects the living of these operators,” De Luna lamented.