LTFRB, DOTC urged to probe burning e-jeep incident

Sen. Pia Cayetano has called on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to investigate what caused a passenger e-jeepney to burst into flames along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City last week.

“The Comet e-jeep that blew up in flames was operating without a franchise,” she said.

Cayetano, who chairs the Senate subcommittee on sustainable transportation, stressed the need for the concerned agencies to issue guidelines and regulate the use of e-jeepneys.

“Of course we all love these environment-friendly vehicles but it doesn’t mean they can operate without regulation, especially if there are safety issues,” she said.

The senator said she had asked the DOTC and LTFRB to regulate the operation of e-jeepneys but her call apparently fell on deaf ears.

“As early as last year, during the Senate budget hearings, I questioned the DOTC and LTFRB about this and they promised to look into it,” Cayetano said. “But here we are more than six months later with a big problem at hand.”

Several photos of the e-jeepney bursting in flames near UP Town Center went viral online following the incident. The photos were reposted in an article on the website of a motoring magazine last Friday.

An unnamed officer of the Comet’s manufacturers reportedly said the e-jeep caught fire on its own.

The Comet e-jeeps ply the route between SM North EDSA and Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.

The source denied earlier reports claiming that the vehicle was deliberately set on fire by drivers of regular diesel- engine jeeps servicing the same route.