LTFRB row worsens: Lizada, Delgra staff swap raps

In a move that could further worsen the infighting within the agency, three staff members of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair Martin Delgra III have filed multiple charges against board member Aileen Lizada.

The Inquirer learned that on Sept. 27, Delgra’s chief of staff, Manolo Labor, along with Nikki Gener and Martin Afante, filed a counter complaint against Lizada in the Office of the Ombudsman for malicious mischief, oral defamation, intriguing against honor and abuse of authority, and grave misconduct. They also sought her immediate suspension from office.

The complaints came a month after Lizada sued the three also at the Ombudsman for insubordination, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.

Reached by the Inquirer, Lizada said this was the first time she heard of the complaints against her. She refused further comment, saying she had already consulted a lawyer on the matter.

Legal battle

The brewing legal battle between Lizada and Delgra’s staffers stemmed from alleged irregularities in the processing of an LTFRB order approving a P2.50 fare hike for jeepneys in Region 6.

The order was signed only by Delgra and the other board member, Ronaldo Corpus, and was announced as “approved” even without Lizada’s signature.

In the case she filed in the Ombudsman, Lizada claimed that Delgra’s staff bypassed her authority by conspiring to rush the order’s approval on July 30, when it was still awaiting her signature.

The three staff members, however, explained that they were in a hurry to have the order finalized upon the instructions of Delgra, who was then in Iloilo province that day and wanted to be prepared for questions from the media about the fare hike.

According to them, it was Lizada’s staffers who helped Gener and Afante get a copy of the order on her desk. Lizada, however, accused them of theft.

According to Gener, Lizada swore at her and accused her of disrespect. She and Afante said Lizada also smashed Gener’s phone in a fit of anger after the board member had a heated exchange on the phone with Labor, who was in Iloilo with Delgra.

‘Deteriorating’

In a memo addressed to Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade and attached to his staffers’ complaints, Delgra backed their story and said the incident “plainly reflected the deteriorating professional and working relationship with the board … which was already affecting the working atmosphere of the agency.”

Delgra and Lizada have been publicly at odds recently over major LTFRB decisions, including the recently approved fare hikes for jeepneys and city buses. This has prompted the transportation department to look for a new LTFRB spokesperson.