PUVs barred from transporting voters to precincts sans permit

THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Saturday, May 11, warned drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to secure a permit if they want to transport voters in tomorrow’s election, May 13.

LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. told SunStar Cebu that so far, his office has not issued a single special permit to any PUV operator or driver.

This means all drivers and operators of PUV vehicles, including public utility jeepneys (PUJ), cannot transport voters from their areas to the precincts for free, he said.

“Except if the voters will themselves flag down a PUJ within the travel line and disembark in the precincts where they are going to vote,” Montealto said.

He added PUV operators and drivers who are planning to conduct special trips for voters could have applied for a special permit two weeks before May 13.

“The special permit does not mean they can transport voters for free as dictated by any politician. The special permit is for transporting voters outside their travel line to the precincts, but the passengers must pay the fare,” Montealto said.

The LTFRB payment for securing a special permit is P170 per unit.

Montealto said the penalty for the first offense is P5,000, while it is P10,000 on the second offense and revocation of franchise on the third offense.

He said the Inter-agency Council on Traffic or I-ACT, Department of Transportation and the Commission on Elections will apprehend PUV drivers and operators who will violate the law.