CEBU CITY (PNA) – Lawyer Manuel Iway, who was recently appointed a member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), said Friday he will advocate for the replacement of passenger jeepneys with buses in Metro Cebu to partially solve the traffic congestion problem in the area.

Iway said it is now time to transfer the jeepneys to secondary roads and place the buses in major thoroughfares because Metro Cebu’s economic activity and population are expanding every day.

Iway said he will discuss his proposal during the LTFRB en banc meeting in Manila next week. Iway’s opinion could reinforce the proposal of then Cebu City mayor now Rep. Tomas Osmeña (Cebu City, south district) for a Bus Rapid Transit in Metro Cebu, which is now under study by the Department of Transportation and Communication.

Iway said a busload of passengers is equivalent to four fully loaded jeepneys. Hence, replacing the jeepneys with buses will tremendously reduce traffic congestion.

Iway said he will also advocate to weed out corruption in his agency, especially at LTFRB 7.

He said he will inform LTFRB Chairman Dante Lantin and his co-board members that 85 percent of the LTFRB 7 personnel engage in fixing franchise applications for Certificate of Public Convenience.

He said the illegal fixing by LTFRB officials and personnel is the reason why some public utility operators can secure franchise for their vehicles as though they’re just buying bread.

Iway said another illegal activity at LTFRB 7 is the collection of P1,500 per application for franchise and without official LTFRB receipt because the amount is divided among the officials and personnel.

Iway said his clients, when he was in law practice, paid such amount so their application for franchise will be processed.

LTFRB 7 Director Bjamin Go said he has no knowledge about the P1,500 illegal collection Iway alleged.