Bontoc townsfolk seek franchise to fill bus vacuum

GV Florida Transport Bus. Noy Morcoso lll/INQUIRER.net file photo

BONTOC, Philippines—A local cooperative is applying for a bus franchise to ply the Bontoc-Manila route, which remains unserviced even after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) lifted the suspension on GV Florida Transport Inc., Bontoc Mayor Frank Odsey said last week.

Odsey said a cooperative composed of residents of Barangay (village) Bayyo here sought his endorsement for their franchise application last month.

The operation of GV Florida, which covers routes in northern Luzon, was suspended following a crash involving one of its buses that killed 15 people in Barangay Talubin here in February. At least 30 people were hurt when the bus, which was ferrying residents and tourists, fell into a ravine some 13 kilometers from its destination in Barangay Poblacion in Bontoc.

Odsey said his town needed buses to ferry residents to Metro Manila and tourists to Bontoc. The absence of a direct trip connecting his town to Metro Manila, he said, was hurting local business and tourism.

Students’ concern 

Odsey said local businessmen were suffering because instead of buying goods from Metro Manila wholesalers and outlets at lower prices, they were forced to bear the higher prices of goods in Baguio City and Solano town in Nueva Vizcaya province.

He said students from his town who are studying in Metro Manila universities were also having a hard time due to the absence of direct trips that were once provided by Florida.

Celina Claver, Cordillera director of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), welcomed the move of Bontoc residents to apply for a franchise but said her office was not aware of any cooperative application for the Bontoc-Manila route.

“In that case, should there be any [application], we would welcome it since that route is underserviced. However, it is up to the DOTC [central office to decide on the franchise application] since there is an existing moratorium [that needs to] be lifted,” Claver said in a text message.

Only buses bought 

Odsey said Florida could not service the route because the Bontoc-Manila franchise was still under the firm Mt. Province Cable Tours.

“GV Florida bought the buses but not the franchise,” he said. Earlier, the Court of Appeals (CA) ordered the LTFRB to lift the ban on the GV Florida fleet. The ban, which was imposed by the LTFRB in March after the Bontoc accident, was supposed to end in September.

The LTFRB said that while it would comply with the CA order, it would also ask the Supreme Court to reverse the appellate court’s order.–Kimberlie Quitasol