Promise to rid EDSA of colorum buses unkept - Malaya 10.10.2005

WITH barely three months left before the end of 2006, transportation officials have yet to remove a single "surplus" bus from EDSA as part of their promise to bring down the present number of buses plying the highway from the present 5,000 to a more manageable 1,000.

"We have not removed any bus. We’re still hearing violations," Maria Elena Bautista, chair of the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), sheepishly told senators at the budget hearing of the Department of Transportation and Communications yesterday.

Bautista said once the cases are resolved and the resolutions issued, the LTFRB would start deciding on what franchises to cancel.

On March 26, 2006, Bautista and Anneli Lontoc, chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), boldly assured senators that they will reduce the number of buses plying EDSA to its ideal level of 1,000. They said 1,500 of the buses currently running along EDSA are "colorums," or without their own franchise.

They also gave themselves until the end of 2006 to get the job done.

In yesterday’s hearing, however, Bautista changed her tune and said they only committed to bring the number of buses down to 1,800 units and that only 539 buses are considered ‘colorums.’

Sen. Sergio Osmeña III, who was present when the commitment was made months ago, scoffed at the transportation officials for making promises they cannot keep just to have their budgets approved. He said he doubts the LTO and LTFRB can do what could not be done 11years ago.
"I bet you next year, you have not solved that," Osmeña said.

Sen. Franklin Drilon, Senate finance committee chair, said they are still holding Bautista and Lontoc to their commitment. "They were the ones who set the standards. They promised that 3,200 from the existing 5,000 would be removed. It’s the commitment of the agency," he said, adding that in case of failure, "bypassing their budgets remains an option." – Dennis Gadil