BUSES ON EDSA. Public utility buses clog Edsa during heavy traffic. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday said habitual traffic offenders--specifically those who committed the same traffic offense three times in one year--will be kept from driving public utility buses beginning Monday (March 9) after bus operators and government regulators agreed on the measure. (PNA file photo)
MANILA – Metro Manila’s major roads will be rid of delinquent bus drivers starting Monday, March 9, after a ban on such drivers was agreed on by bus operators and the government.
In a press conference at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) headquarters in Makati City on Tuesday, MMDA general manager Arturo “Jojo” Garcia said a list of habitual traffic violators will be sent to Bus Management Dispatch (BMD) offices across the metropolis to keep such drivers off the roads.
“A representative from LTO (Land Transportation Office) will join our personnel at our [BMD] offices to screen city bus drivers. They will not be dispatched if they are included on the list of habitual violators,” Garcia said.
LTO personnel, he said, will join the MMDA in its crackdown against delinquent drivers to confiscate the driver’s licenses of those found on the list.
“Their driver’s license will be confiscated by LTO as MMDA is not allowed to do so,” Garcia said.
He said the bus operators agreed to cooperate with the MMDA in a crackdown against their rogue drivers after a meeting between the said parties, the LTO, the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
"We asked the bus operators to cooperate and they are willing to have their drivers undergo a retraining program. We need to strictly enforce this and we want them off the road,” Garcia said.
He said the MMDA has BMD offices in various locations including Baclaran, Alabang, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Fairview.
"We are serious about this matter. It's about time to suspend erring drivers with an alarming number of apprehensions," Garcia said.
According to the MMDA, the confiscation of a driver’s license by LTO personnel is authorized under Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines.
According to the law, a driver who commits at least three of the same violations in a 12-month period may face automatic suspension of his/her license for at least one to two years.
On Monday, Garcia said the MMDA asked the LTO for a guideline on the apprehension of excessive traffic violators among drivers—particularly drivers of public utility vehicles (PUV).
He added that PUV drivers are not being singled out as the MMDA is also cracking down on habitual traffic offenders among private motorists. (PNA)
