BAGUIO CITY — The Cordillera office of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) here uncovered the existence of at least 1,000 fraudulently issued franchises for public utility vehicles over the past several decades which have already resulted in serious traffic problems in the city’s central business district.

Out of the number of illegal franchises, 70 percent were issued to taxis while the rest cover public utility jeepneys, garage vans, and buses.

Lawyer Federico Mandapat Jr., DoTC-CAR regional director, admitted the efforts of the agency to go after those responsible for issuing the questionable franchises to the different public utility vehicles is suffering from a huge setback because the erring and unscrupulous officials and employees have already been dismissed or they have retired from the service.

However, he claimed they have initially gained in the revocation and cancellation of some irregularly granted franchises after discovering that they have no appropriate records with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Region I before the LTFRB-CAR acquired jurisdiction over the power to grant franchises.

Worst, Mandapat revealed almost all of the illegal franchises issued to operators of public vehicles were done during the existence of a moratorium on the issuance of certificates of public convenience (CPCs) in 1996.