{"id":112014,"date":"2017-08-15T01:41:46","date_gmt":"2017-08-15T05:41:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=112014"},"modified":"2017-08-15T01:41:46","modified_gmt":"2017-08-15T05:41:46","slug":"poe-summons-ltfrb-to-a-meeting-after-move-to-suspend-ubers-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/08\/15\/poe-summons-ltfrb-to-a-meeting-after-move-to-suspend-ubers-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Poe summons LTFRB to a meeting after move to suspend Uber\u2019s services"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Senator<\/a>
Senator Grace Poe (PNA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA \u2014 Senator Grace Poe has summoned officials of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to an urgent meeting in the Senate Wednesday, a day after the board suspended services of ride-hailing service Uber for a month.<\/p>\n

Poe, in a statement, said that she was hopeful that the meeting with the LTFRB would help resolve the issue as public interest requires the Senate to exercise congressional oversight.<\/p>\n

She described the decision of LTFRB to suspend Uber services as \u201ccruel and absurd.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am aghast that this agency that committed before the Senate to resolve the issues has just imposed a cure that will only make the disease much worse. It does not solve the problem, but further exacerbates the problem of having an utter lack of safe, reliable, and convenient transportation options for our people,\u201d Poe said.<\/p>\n

Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, described the LTFRB\u2019s suspension order as a \u201cdefiance of the LTFRB officials\u2019 commitment to provide a solution to the issues surrounding transport network vehicle services (TNVS) operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Senate Committee on Public Services, during the last hearing, asked them to straighten out issues with the Transport Network Companies by October, the committee did not mean for them to suspend the operations of any TNC,\u201d Poe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was wrong to think that the LTFRB was on the same page with the Committee on how to come up with remedial rules pending the crafting of pertinent legislation,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Poe said that the LTFRB suspended Uber\u2019s services not because of lack of roadworthiness but because of \u201ca mere administrative violation\u201d which should have merited a corresponding administrative penalty.<\/p>\n

The senator pointed out that Uber\u2019s penalty should not limit the public of their transport options.<\/p>\n

She further said that the public deserved to have options when it comes to choosing convenient, safe, and reliable transportation services to brave the daily punishing traffic jam.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t the LTFRB be innovative in coming up with an appropriate penalty that is fair and that will not prejudice the riding public? Is there no other less crippling penalty at our disposal? Thirty days is a long time,\u201d Poe said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout reliable public transportation, those who depend on Uber for their daily commute will have to find an alternative or revert to their long and usual daily grind. Was the interest of the riding public, that is now compromised and jeopardized, ever factored in when the LTFRB came up with the suspension order?\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Automotive journalist James Deakin, in a statement, said that he supported the LTFRB\u2019s decision to suspend Uber for a month but expressed hope that the board would be equally accountable for not doing their job in other areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs big a fan as I am of ride sharing, I support the LTFRB’s decision to suspend Uber for a month. Harsh as it may be, rules are rules. And if Uber broke those rules by accrediting vehicles after the deadline, then so be it. The LTFRB are just doing their job. We have to respect that,\u201d Deakin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that in the spirit of fairness we can also hold the LTFRB equally accountable for not doing their job in other areas. After all, rules are rules,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

He, meanwhile, urged the LTFRB to also suspend operations of other public transport vehicles that transport passengers without permits. (PNA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA \u2014 Senator Grace Poe has summoned officials of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to an urgent …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":112019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[2934,7606,2132],"class_list":["post-112014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-ltfrb","tag-poe","tag-uber","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}