DOTr scouting for new spokesperson for LTFRB

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it was looking for a new spokesperson to provide a unifying voice for the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

The idea came amid yet another round of infighting and lack of communication on the board during its recent decision to approve petitions for fare increases for buses and jeepneys.

DOTr Communication Director Goddes Libiran told the Inquirer that the department was scouting for a spokesperson “who could help communicate the projects, services and statements [of the board] clearly to the public.”

LTFRB Chair Martin Delgra III is currently the de facto spokesperson after board member Aileen Lizada resigned the post in January.

Request of jeepney groups

But a September letter from sympathetic jeepney groups, as well as a request from Sen. Grace Poe, revived calls for Lizada to return as spokesperson.

Vouching for Lizada’s competence, both Poe and the jeepney groups underscored the need for clear lines of communication to the board, particularly on the DOTr’s controversial PUV modernization program.

Delgra said the board would discuss the matter.

Tensions within the three-member board came to a head last week when Lizada and Delgra held separate press conferences to explain their side on the Oct. 17 decision to raise the minimum fares of jeepneys and buses to P10 and P11, respectively.

Dissenting opinion

Lizada, who was the sole dissenter, was asked by the DOTr to “adhere to proper organizational protocol by coursing through (Delgra) all media affairs and engagements,” Libiran said.

But the Davaoeña lawyer argued that only she could explain her dissenting opinion.

This sort of friction has fueled speculations of discord on the board, already battered by public opinion from the fare hikes it approved amid soaring prices of basic goods.

Libiran said the DOTr had yet to finalize a list of prospects.

She also said that only Delgra could ultimately choose the board’s spokesperson.