Ejercito urges LTFRB: Consider Uber’s offer to pay fine

Photo from Sen. JV Ejercito’s Facebook

Senator JV Ejercito on Friday agreed that Uber should be penalized for violating policies of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

But he said the LTFRB, too, should have considered first the clamor of the Uber drivers and riders before it decided to suspend the operations of the ride-hailing firm.

“Yes, Uber violated regulations. They have apologized. They should be punished. But the punishment should take into consideration the larger interest of the public. Is the LTFRB too proud to shorten the suspension period or accede to Uber’s request to just pay a fine in lieu of suspension?” Ejercito said in a statement on Friday.

The senator was referring to Uber’s offer to pay fine of P10 million to the LTFRB instead of serving a one-month suspension. The agency will hear Uber’s pleading on Wednesday next week.

READ: Uber willing to pay hefty fine as ‘rectification’ for mess with LTFRB

“Don’t these alternatives drive home the point that no one can get away with violating our rules but at the same time avoiding exacerbating the suffering of Filipino commuters?” he added.

Also, the order of the LTFRB to allow Uber drivers to transfer to Grab and U-Hop while Uber remains suspended “raised more questions than answers,” said Ejercito.

READ: LTFRB: Displaced Uber drivers have this option

“I have said before that it is proper for Uber to be penalized for defying LTFRB regulations. But here the penalty imposed by LTFRB has inconvenienced the public and has had a negative impact on Uber drivers’ livelihood. With this new order, isn’t the agency essentially attempting to mitigate the problems caused by the very order they issued?” he said.

Earlier, the LTFRB directed other transport network companies Grab and U-Hop to accept Uber while the latter remained suspended. IDL