CA keeps Don Mariano Transit off the road

Don Mariano bus. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Court of Appeals dismissed the petition of Don Mariano Transit Corporation (DMTC) to lift the cancellation of their Certificates of Public Convenience (CPC) after one of its bus units figured in a road accident last Dec. 13 along Alabang Skyway killing 21 passengers and injuring 24 others.

In a four-page resolution written by Associate Justice Fernanda Lampas-Peralta, the appeals court’s eight division said DMTC should have exhausted the administrative remedy before taking its case to court.

After the accident, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) canceled Don Mariano’s  CPC.

DMTC took its case to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on appeal. The DOTC has not yet acted on its appeal prompting it to go to the Court of Appeals.

In its ruling, the appeals court said, after the DOTC issued its ruling on the matter, the next step is to take the case to the Office of the President.

“An appeal to the Office of the President from the decision of a Department of Secretary in an administrative case is the last step that an aggrieved party should take in the administrative hierarchy as it is plain, speedy and adequate remedy available to the petitioner,” the appeals court said.

It added: “If a remedy within the administrative machinery can still be had by giving the administrative officer concerned every opportunity to decide on the matter that comes within his jurisdiction, then such remedy should be… exhausted before the court’s judicial power is invoked,” the appeals court said.

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