The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) called out on Friday blogger-TV host James Deakin for what it called his spreading of “fake news” when he posted on his Facebook page on Friday the alleged new guidelines covering transport network vehicle services (TNVS).

Deakin said in his post that TNVS operators, including those with only a single unit, would now be required under the LTFRB Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2017-027 to have a dedicated service area and mechanic; a stock of lubricants, spare tires and other parts, as well as repair and maintenance tools; a dedicated CCTV for their garage/workshop; and a dedicated safety officer and helper.

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“This should add another 60k [P60,000] a month to the overhead of a TNVS driver. Which means he or she will need to drive four times longer than they did before just to break even or start asking for dag dag sa metro (additional fare) just to survive. You know, just like a taxi,” the blogger claimed in his post that has generally drew angry reactions from netizens.

In a statement released on Friday night, the LTFRB said that it has called out Grab Philippines to correct its information on its Facebook page, which Deakin referred to for his post.

The board clarified that the requirements Deakin cited were “only for vehicles operating under fleet management” and would not cover those under transport network companies Grab, Uber and U-Hop.

Earlier, the LTFRB issued MC 2017-032, effectively discouraging TNVS operators from having a fleet of cars as they will now be limited to only having three cars.

“We, therefore, request Mr. James Deakin to uphold objectivity, accuracy, and responsible journalism in presenting his reports/opinions, through verifying details with its proper sources, so as to prevent the spread of misinformation that may delude the public,” the LTFRB said.

While Grab Philippines had already issued an erratum on its post, Deakin still stood by on what he said.

“The LTFRB has been treating TNVS as PUVs, but when it suits them, they are exempt?” he said. “All this coming from an agency that refuses to respond to queries and kicked me out of their Viber group? Precious.” /atm

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