MANILA, Philippines – An outgoing official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has accused its chief, Martin Delgra, of falsifying a circular that exempts 159 provincial buses from stopping at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).
During the hearing of the Senate committee on public services on Tuesday, LTFRB board member Aileen Lizada, who would be transferred to the Civil Service Commission starting Wednesday, claimed that Memorandum Circular (MC) 2018-022 was a falsified document because it did not bear her initials.
Lizada presented a copy of the memorandum that was sent to the UP Law Center and the Philippine Star for publication during the hearing. She said her initials on the document were not there.
“Where are my initials? Here? There? Where? It’s not there,” she said.
According to Lizada, what she signed was MC 2018-020 – the first circular on the PITX bus operations. Lizada said the third page of MC 2018-022 was retrieved from the MC 2018-020.
“The first MC (MC 2018-020) was what I reviewed and dissented to, the second MC, as what made to appear, nilagay ‘yung third page ko doon sa second MC (MC 2018-022),” Lizada said.
“As far as I’m concerned it is MC 2018-020, that is still operative po,” she also said.
Senator Grace Poe, chair of the committee, asked Lizada: “For the record, are you saying now that Chairman Delgra falsified this signature on the document?”
“I am under oath and I say yes,” Lizada answered.
Lizada said she did not agree to sign MC 2018-022 because it has “manifest partiality” to some bus operators.
“It appears that there is manifest partiality to some bus operators, causing due injury to other bus operators in the amount of loss income nila,” she noted.
All provincial buses coming from the south were supposed to terminate at the PITX, and passengers were supposed to transfer to other modes of transportation to go to Edsa.
But under MC 2018-022, some provincial buses, which were authorized only for provincial operations, were allowed city operations and thus, were able to proceed to Edsa. /kga