BALANGA, Bataan—Rodolfo Jaucian, the relieved National Capitol Region Director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, on Wednesday explained his side on alleged corruption charges that led to the firing of over 40 LTFRB personnel two weeks back.
In an exclusive interview, Jaucian told Manila Standard the LTFRB Central Office’s “very harsh and confiscatory policy” on the renewal of expired public utility vehicle franchises forced PUV owners and drivers to operate as “colorum” or without permits.
The agency denied petitions for the extension of the validity of expired franchises even if it lapsed for just one day, said Jaucian, who visited a friend in this city for Christmas.
He said the LTFRB Central Office realized its mistakes and accepted petitions for franchise extensions, “but sadly limited it to jeepneys only, neglecting other modes of transportations like taxis and UV express service.”
Jaucian explained he granted the PUV operators’ motions to accept the late filing of their applications to extend the validity of their permits, “based on their individual merits and to correct the injustice done to them.”
He also called “a blatant lie” the reported allegation of the existence of a “ghost” database at the bureau. The other database, Jaucian said, is a backup file “that was used in the computerization and issuance of certificates of public convenience and stickers.”
Jaucian and four of his staff at the NCR office, and over 40 LTFRB officials in all, were dismissed on December 12. They face possible multiple administrative cases, including graft, violation of the code of ethical standards, grave misconduct, and abuse of authority.
LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra said an internal investigation showed Jaucian awarded transport franchise licenses that the agency previously revoked.
Jaucian, who was transferred to the career executive service officers or CESO pool on floating status, said in a television interview before Christmas he allowed the expired franchises to be extended to help operators and drivers who lost their jobs.
“If they say it’s like bringing the dead back to life, then that’s what I did because it was the right thing to do,” Jaucian told GMA News.
Delgra, however, said the LTFRB investigation showed “colorum” vehicles ran rampant in the National Capital Region under Jaucian’s watch.