MANILA – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is set to require the use of the contact tracing mobile application StaySafe.ph in public utility vehicles (PUVs) to help combat the spread of Covid-19.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, the LTFRB said PUV operators and drivers will be required to register with StaySafe.ph, create their own QR code, have it posted inside and at entrances of their PUVs, and require all passengers to use the QR codes—all within 30 days of the LTFRB’s publication of Memorandum Circular No. 2021-041.
“The Board hereby mandates all PUV operators to immediately shift from the previous manual filling-up of contact tracing forms to the use of StaySafe.ph application,” the memorandum circular read.
It also said all data obtained from the application will be made available to the LTFRB, subject to the Data Privacy Act, and PUV operators and drivers are required to coordinate with StaySafe.ph for assistance in collecting and using the data obtained.
The memorandum circular, it said, was published on June 21 and is in pursuant with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infections Disease’s (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 87 series of 2020.
Failure to comply with this provision, it added, will be considered as a “violation of IATF health protocols, and the corresponding penalties shall be imposed.”
The penalties include fines and possibly revocation of their Certificate of Public Compliance or Provisional Authority. (PNA)
