MANILA, Philippines — Some local government units want to have their borders closed to provincial buses coming from the National Capital Region (NCR) as cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continue to increase in the country, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Tuesday.
“We already met with the umbrella organization of the locally elected officials and a number of LGUs (local government units) are still not open to opening their borders at this point in time,” LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra said in an online press conference, responding to a question on adding more provincial bus routes.
“In fact, a few days before the announcement that Metro Manila will go back to MECQ (modified enhanced community quarantine), we received in Region III (Central Luzon) from governors of Region 3, to close the border of bus routes going to and from Metro Manila,” he added.
Delgra said they still consider the approval of local government units when adding more bus routes that affect their areas.
“It is really a concern for which the LTFRB and LGU will have to coordinate with each other in so far as provincial bus routes are concerned,” the LTFRB official said.
Nonetheless, Delgra said the transport agency will continue to work on adding more routes to ferry passengers while transportation is still limited during the quarantine period.
Before the modified enhanced community quarantine took effect in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, there were 3,662 public utility bus units plying 31 routes serving commuters. These units will return to the roads as Metro Manila reverts to a general community quarantine status on Aug. 19, Wednesday.