THE House of Representatives’ Committee on Transportation on Monday cited former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) employee Jeff Tumbado in contempt for alleged failure to substantiate his corruption allegations against the agency.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pushing for the consolidation of the operators and drivers into transport cooperatives amid opposition from other transport groups.
The panel chaired by Antipolo Rep. Romeo Acop approved the motion of Sagip party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta after Tumbado failed to substantiate his accusations of corruption against suspended LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz III or any other LTFRB official.
Tumbado admitted during the hearing that he did not have personal knowledge about the alleged corruption. “Opinyon ko lang po iyon (That’s only my opinion),” Tumbado said.
He categorically said he did not have direct evidence, adding his information merely came from complaints by mass transport operators about alleged exorbitant fees being charged by the LTFRB for provisional authority.
Tumbado’s testimonies irked the legislators notably Marcoleta.
“Wala kaming panahon para sa iyo. Sinayang mo ang oras ng mga kongresista na nagpunta rito (We don’t have time for you. You wasted our time),” Marcoleta beratedTumbado.
“We cannot rely on the answers of this resource person,” he added.
Acop, for his part, agreed with Marcoleta, thus approving the motion
to cite Tumbado in contempt
“I am hereby citing Mr. Tumbado in contempt and ordering him detained
in this Congress for a maximum number of 10 days,” Acop said.
Tumbado, who is Guadiz’s former executive assistant, also apologized
to Guadiz and Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista for his
false corruption claims.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the living status of
public utility vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers have improved with
the help of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
“The benefits brought (about) by the PUVMP include the safety of passengers,
the efficient operation and increased livelihood because the boundary
system will disappear,” Bautista said.
Around 70 percent of PUV operators and drivers are now consolidated into
over 1,700 transport cooperatives nationwide.
Under the PUVMP, operators and drivers must organize into a
cooperative or corporation to establish larger fleets of PUVs
The DOTr, in collaboration with the LTFRB, extended the consolidation deadline until December 31,
2023.