Dear Mr. Ahmed Cuizon of LTFRB-7 Cebu,
We, as students, who belong to the group of the riding public, were very disappointed with your kind of leadership in the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board Region 7. As the Regional Director of this government agency, you didn’t have the political will to strictly implement the rules that was also mandated by your department. To mention a few.
1)
Jeepney fare overcharging. – Almost all PUJ’s here in Cebu charged P8, instead of P7.50, don’t tell us they don’t have 25 cents, drivers always charged P16 for 2 passengers, P24 for 3 passengers. Students was charged P7 instead of P6. In a radio interview, you were given a chance to explain on this and your plan, but you were just smiling telling “Ana dyod nang uban natong drivers”. Seriously, are you not insulted that these drivers are not following the rules your department mandates them to follow? Instead of being angry, you have the guts to smile.
2)
Roadside Illegal Overnight parking of PUJ and Taxi Cabs. – LTFRB Regional Directors of different regions are mandated to conduct inspections of the garage of all public utility vehicles within their jurisdictions at least once a year and submit an annual report to the higher board, but you gave us a stupid reason that any taxpayers can shout a Booo!!! "Wala g'yud ko'y mga personnel nga makahimo og inspection kon tinuod ba nga ang franchise applicants dunay garahe alang sa ilang mga sakyanan mao nga nagsalig ra g'yud tawon mi sa local traffic enforcers ug sa tabang sa local government units," as you said. But Sir, first of all, President Pnoy appointed you to handle LTFRB-7, why haven’t you asked for support if you were lacking people in your department? Can’t you check a certain area for one month and another area for another month? You asked for public support, numerous media men already give you hints where are these areas that usually used as illegal parking roads. You were even quoted before that you promised to give solutions to this kind of problem during your first year of your term as LTFRB-7 Regional Director. Are operators giving you monetary allowance why you were so blind to see what are needed to see and implement the law? Don’t give us that damn reasons you lack personnel, other government agencies do also lack manpower but they make it a point that slowly and surely there are resolving the problem.
3)
Complain Desk Issues – We already read several reports that your people in your complain desk department acted so slow that some of the complaint reported to you by the riding public were made them to wait for 2 to 4 months, some of these complain remains unsolved. We visited LTFRB-7 twice and found out the real problem - the in charged is not always on his table, it’s either he’s doing another job he was also required too, or out of the office because for complying another job rather than receiving and concentrating on the complains he received from the public. Let me ask you, how can you expect the passengers to report to you abusive drivers if their complains gone to wait for months? Stickers in public utility vehicles says ‘If may reklamo ka, tawag sa LTFRB”. We even tried calling to check on these, sad to say a student on OJT answered the phone and told us, Ma’am, wala si sir gisugo ug drive kay walay driver”. What? So Sir, you really lack personnels, but we believe even if you have plenty, you still have no masterplan to make the services of your department effective. Even if letters were addressed personally to you, results are still in question.
Let me take a highlight from the column of Bobby Nalzaro dated June 14, 2014 -that reflects your leadership. Here is it.............
Most public utility vehicles have “May reklamo ka? Tawag sa LTFRB: 2317466/2316221” either painted at the side or at the back. But it seems the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB 7) is not protecting the riding public against abusive drivers and dilapidated vehicles.
It cannot even act on or entertain an official complaint against an abusive taxi driver, much more act on mere telephone calls. On behalf of his lady friend, Zacarias “Nene” Hermosisima wrote a letter to LTFRB 7 Director Ahmed Cuizon complaining against an abusive Juscar taxi driver last March 14.
The victim of that abusive driver, who was suffering from a lingering illness when the incident happened last March 10 died, last May 3.
Until now, Hermosisima has yet to receive any feedback from LTFRB 7. Ah, siguro nabusy lang si Director Cuizon sa pagpost og mga photos sa iyang Facebook. Mahiligon man god na siya moposing sa Facebook.
From Sunstar Cebu.
4)
PUJ Overloading and Cutting Trips. – We called to report on this one, it was around 2013, we reported Consolacion, Mandaue and Danao Jeepneys, but the person who talks to us wants us to give him plate numbers. We reasoned out it was too many and we are just informing them so that they can think of better solutions, in the first place it was LTFRB rules that was violated so they need to act on it. Your personnel told us to report to LTO. In despair, we said goodbye right away. Our question is, can’t you just coordinate with the LTO to make an operation rather than us passengers? If the case is just too many, too rampant, do you expect us to do the messy assignment? And you, that was supposed to be the in charged of the law, just wait for your Christmas Bonuses?
Now, Sir Ahmed Cuizon, that you are planning to resign as LTFRB Director, we want you to know that you didn’t deserved that position anyway. Cebu needs an LTFRB head who is will-driven, passionate, quick to anger if reports of too many violations reach his office and knows he must do something, have a high sense of urgency for complainants who needs help, and has better plans of how to resolve things to be effective in his assignment.
You said public suggestions are welcome in your office. You received so many suggestions that can make wonderful changes to the transport system and for the passengers, but all of them, came to a dead ear. We suggested to you that since many students don’t know that they’re only required P6 as PUJ fare, you will put tarpaulins in different school entrances and exits telling them about the 20% discount, but you reasoned out that it’s not needed because it was already in the newspapers and even written in fare matrix. Why won’t you try to ride a jeepney and find out to your self if the student discount is really correctly and clearly implemented in Cebu? We dare you to do that. You have accepted the Ice Challenge and even broadcast on local TV, take some time to do accept this challenge, will you?
We are also wondering why you have not created a team that will observed and report to you the common abuses that drivers are doing. They must be the number one complainants to your office because it is very insulting to your part that the high rate of abusive drivers continue to do illegal things simply because they are not afraid of your law, nor respects you as LTFRB Head. You should be the one telling LTO to catch these abusers with your own list of plate numbers, rather than expect the passengers to do all these things to you.
Years wasted, people of Cebu needs a better and brighter LTFRB Head.
Somehow it's not only me who observed how ineffective LTFRB-7 is...
I stumble upon a blog that exposed it all. What can you say?
Check it out.
click the site
ltfrbcebu
Marie May Corteseña
Guadalupe, Cebu City
STUDENT’S ALLIANCE
FOR BETTER PHILIPPINES
You can spread, share this open letter to anyone in Cebu, in the first place, in our taxes they get their salaries.