MMDA Eyes to Suspend Delinquent PUV Drivers

The leadership of Metro Manila Development Authority is pushing away erring public utility drivers out of Metro Manila roads.  This as the agency has forwarded to the Land Transportation Office names of drivers of public utility vehicle who committed multiple violations of various traffic offenses. In a press conference at the MMDA headquarters in Makati, MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said that motorists with alarming number of traffic violations should be banned from driving as they pose safety risks for their passengers. “We want the riding public to be out of danger and prohibiting habitual traffic offenders is one step to avoid road accidents,” Garcia said. Garcia also said that the MMDA will wait for the guidelines from LTO for the apprehension of these PUV drivers. Half of the 2,500 drivers answered the show cause orders issued to them by the LTO. The MMDA has submitted a total of 12,000 drivers with multiple apprehensions last month. While waiting for the apprehension guidelines from the LTO, Garcia appealed to the operators to not allow those delinquent drivers to ply national roads in Metro Manila. “Because we are just an enforcement agency, we have to be guided by the LTO on the apprehension of these motorists but we encourage PUV operators to exercise their authority and bar their errant drivers from holding the steering wheel,” Garcia stressed. LTO Law Enforcement Deputy Director Roberto Valera emphasized that revocation and suspension of license is in accordance with the law. Tomorrow, the MMDA and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board will sit down with bus operators to submit the names of drivers who are under the alarm list of LTO. Philippine National Police – Highway Patrol Group Traffic Enforcement Unit Chief Col. Emmanuel Tabuena, for his part, said that aside from suspension and revocation of license, drivers who are involved in road accidents may also face criminal charges like reckless driving, among others. Garcia and LTFRB Technical Division Chief Joel Bolano are confident that license revocations and suspensions won’t adversely affect the transport system in the Metropolis. “If there are 3,500 bus units in Metro Manila, there are more than 7,000 PUB drivers. If there are only 2,000 delinquent bus drivers, there will still be 5,000 left," Bolano said. Garcia also clarified that the government is not singling out PUV drivers as the agency is now going after private vehicles drivers and owners with more than three violations of same traffic offense.

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