The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has issued a clarification as regarding reports that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had allegedly lost the documents pertaining to the registration of TNVS and TNC from the previous administration.



In a press statement, the DOTr states that the application documents of the individual TNVS drivers are not missing. Instead, they explained that the previous administration of the LTFRB had lost the accreditation papers of the TNCs, which would be Uber and Grab. Copies of such documents are in the possession of the TNCs themselves.



The DOTr goes on to explain that issues such as the sudden rise of TNVS applications to 30,000 prompted the LTFRB to suspend the applications to review issues like surge pricing, accountability, taxation, and even if there is sufficient parking for the over 30,000 vehicles that the TNCs would accept into their services.



Below is the statement in full:

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This has reference to the call of Rep. Neil J. Abayon of AANGAT TAYO Party-list for the Ombudsman to probe and preventively suspend LTFRB officials and staff due to a recent statement that "it lost the "application documents of TNCs and TNVs filed in the past administration".

The DOTr-LTFRB is sorry that various news reports on this matter have caused misinformation, if not confusion, to Rep. Abayon.

Hence, below are some points to clarify the issue:

1. It is not true that the LTFRB lost the "application documents" of TNVS. The documents mentioned by BM Aileen Lizada were the "accreditation papers of TNCs" that were lost by the previous administration of LTFRB, NOT by the current. There was no proper turnover of documents including the accrecitation papers of the TNCs. The current administration of LTFRB, in fact, diligently exerted all efforts to locate the missing documents ever since they assumed office. Uber and Grab also have copies of such documents that LTFRB can request for, in case there is a necessity;

2. The TNC accreditation documents do not have anything to do with the imposition of cap in the application of TNVS franchise which ballooned to more than 30,000 applications covering more than 32,000 units, which was more than enough to address the demand at that time. To make it clear, the moratorium in accepting new applications for TNVS franchise, which was issued by LTFRB last July 2016, was due to the following reasons:

a.) While processing the thousands of applications, the LTFRB reviews the fundamental issues of accountability of TNCs to passengers and operators alike, and the problem of fare surging scheme; and,

b.) Equally important issues for compliance is to make sure that TNCs and TNVS contribute their fair share of taxes to the government, and for TNVS to have the required garages to avoid illegal parking on streets to prevent traffic congestion.

In closing, officials from the DOTr-LTFRB express their willingness to engage Rep. Abayon to further clarify any confusion as they welcome any constructive inputs from him, putting public welfare and safety in the topmost priority.

As previously reported, President Rodrigo ordered all previously appointed officials of the LTO and LTFRB to vacate their posts due to allegations of corruption and inefficiency as part of his cleanup program.