GPS devices now mandatory for provincial buses as QC court sides with LTFRB

A QUEZON City court has denied a transport group’s petition to put off the enforcement of memorandum circulars (MCs) issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) requiring the installation of Global Positioning System (GPS) devices in provincial buses.

The Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) “failed to establish that it possessed a clear legal right that merits the protection of the court through the writ of preliminary injunction,” said Judge Marilou Runes-Tamang of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 98.

“It must be stressed that the enforcement of the subject circulars will not result as yet in a disenfranchisement of the public utility bus operation to the detriment of the riding public. It can still continue operating and serving the riding public subject only to the imposition of fines or penalties,” she added in her order released on June 2.

The arguments raised by PBOAP “did not touch much on the issue of immediacy but more on the propriety and constitutionality of the questioned MCs” which have yet to be resolved in the main injunction case.

In denying the preliminary injunction, the court “is not saying that the (LTFRB) did or did not act with abuse of discretion in issuing the subject circulars. Neither does it resolve the issue of the constitutionality of the assailed circulars,” Tamang said.

The court earlier issued a 20-day temporary restraining order which stopped the LTFRB from implementing its GPS memorandum. With the TRO expiring on May 15, the implementation was moved to June 1. Buses without a GPS face a P1,000 fine per month.

LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez said the board was “pleased” with the court ruling as the installation of GPS devices aims to protect the safety of the riding public by regulating the speed of buses.