DOTr to SC: Dismiss petitions vs PUV modernization

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have asked the Supreme Court (SC) to dismiss for lack of merit a petition seeking to stop the implementation and ultimately void government orders related to the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).

- DAPHNE GALVEZ

 

The plea was enclosed in the agencies’ comment filed on Jan. 5 on the petition for certiorari and application for a temporary restraining order filed by Pagka-kaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) and other transport groups against the PUVMP.

In the 65-page comment, the DOTr and LTFRB, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), said Piston’s petition should be dismissed outright on procedural grounds and for lack of merit.

The petitioners asked the SC to nullify the order formalizing the modernization plan and circulars for the consolidation.

These refer to DOTr Department Order No. 2017-11, which serves as the framework for the PUVMP, and the LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2023-051, which set the deadline for the consolidation.

In their comment, the DOTr and LTFRB said the petition was not in accordance with the hierarchy of courts and failed to satisfy the requisites for judicial review.