ILOILO City – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) temporarily stopped apprehending public utility vehicle drivers and charging them of reckless driving for not wearing face shields.
Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association and chairman of the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative, thanked the LTO for considering their appeal.
To recall, Parcon wrote LTO regional director Eric Lenard Tabaldo a letter on Aug.20 seeking clarification to the charge “reckless driving due to not wearing of face shield of their passengers.”
He said there was no way for them to find any reference pertaining to such violation.
“In this current situation where money is hard to find, it is quite burdensome to our drivers to be fined P2,078 for a violation committed by some passengers lazy to wear face shields. In this regard, may we seek compassion from your office to heed the call of our drivers to defer this charge for they can’t even raise money for the daily sustenance of their families,” said Parcon.
Since last month, a total of 26 jeepeney drivers have been apprehended and charged with reckless driving because their passengers failed to wear face shields.
According to Parcon, the regional office agreed to let the city government impose its ordinance relative to the non-wearing of facemask/face shield and apprehend violators.
Councilor Romel Duron said the city council is set to amend the face mask ordinance by Tuesday next week to include the non-wearing of face shields as a violation.
Duron also sponsored a resolution “requesting LTO/ Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to refrain from enforcing the wearing of face mask/face shield by drivers and passengers.
“The city has an ordinance regarding the wearing of facemask and is about to pass an ordinance about wearing of face shield in the entire city of Iloilo,” read part of the recently-passed resolution./PN
