200 provincial buses can enter Metro in wee hours

MANILA, Philippines—More than 200 provincial buses from Southern Luzon, Bicol and Visayas regions can again enter Metro Manila and use their terminals in Quezon City and Pasay City—but only in the wee hours from midnight to 4 a.m.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday revised an earlier memo barring these buses from entering the capital and limiting their route to the South Station in Muntinlupa City.

Board member Ariel Inton on Tuesday said the four-hour window period was granted to 236 provincial buses “after (their operators) in Bicol and political leaders (in that region) made an appeal and we found out that these buses usually arrive in Metro Manila between midnight and 4 a.m. and will not cause traffic.”

House members from Bicol earlier filed a resolution asking the LTFRB to defer the implementation of the ban, while Albay Gov. Joey Salceda asked the Supreme Court to stop national agencies from imposing such restrictions on buses from that region.