Forgers of fare hike petition face criminal raps--official
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 18:48:00 06/04/2008
Filed Under: Crime, Road Transport, Consumer Issues, Travel & Commuting, Oil & Gas - Downstream activities
MANILA, Philippines -- Criminal charges will be filed against the individual or group responsible for forging signatures on the pending petition of transport groups for an additional P2.50 increase in jeepney fare, an official of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFB) said on Wednesday.
LTFRB board member Ma. Ellen Dirige-Cabatu said the amended petition filed by transport groups last May 28 was “questionable” because some signatures could have been forged.
The petitioners for the P 2.50 fare hike were the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), Makati Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (MJODA), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO), National Transporter-Workers Union (NTU), and Katipunan ng mga Kooperatibang Pansasakyan ng Pilipinas (KKPPI).
But Cabatu said at least two signatures on the petition were forged, that of MJODAP president Gonzalo Cerio and NTU president Alejo Sayasa.
“We here have the assumption that the petition filed by the groups has been agreed upon by the members,” she said. “So we were surprised when complaints rushed from the groups saying that they did not want an increase. And when we showed them the pending petition, they were surprised to see their signatures were there.”
Cabatu added that apart from the forged signatures, all the attached secretary’s certificates bore the same Board Resolution Numbers and the same fonts, and even the lawyer’s identity was questionable.
“Duda pa kami kung sino yung attorney nila [We even doubt who their lawyer is],” she said.
Cerio was also surprised to hear about the pending petition.
“Actually pumunta lang ako sa LTFRB para makipag-diskusyon kung ano pa ang ibang paraan para matulungan ang mga driver, nagulat na lang ako ng nalaman ko ito [Actually, I only want to the LTFRB to discuss other ways of helping the drivers and was surprised when I learned of this],” he said.
Cerio stressed that his group is not in favor of any fare increase.
“Hindi ko pinirmahan [petition] at hindi namin alam yan [I did not sign and we know nothing of that],” he said.
Cerio said he felt he had been “slapped in the face” when he saw that, in the petition, he was identified only as MJODAP secretary, while Orlando Marquez was listed as president of the group.
Marquez, he said, is past MJODA president. Cerio was appointed president last year.
Cerio has already filed an affidavit saying his signature was forged.
Cabatu said the LTFRB would conduct a formal investigation on the matter.
The “filing of fraudulent papers before the Board is a criminal act,” she said.
She said the agency would be stricter in accepting petitions from transport groups.
“We will be strict in accepting petitions and complaints. Groups should have a legal representative with them. This is a sensitive matter, fictitious, fraudulent papers could have been filed just to get this across,” she said.
Cerio said a fare hike would not be a solution to the rising prices of fuel.
“Kung itataas natin ang pamasahe, hindi long-term solution ito dahil nababawasan naman ang pasahero. Dapat ipatupad na ang mga subsidiya na sinasabi ng gobyerno [If we increase fares, it will not be a long-term solution because you bleed the passengers. The subsidies the government is talking about should be implemented now],” he said.
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