Posters of politicians plastered on public utility buses will not be ordered taken down by the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) unless directed by the Commission on Elections (Comelec), LTFRB Chairman Alberto Suansing said Tuesday.

Suansing said he believes that the advertisements bearing the face and campaign slogans of some candidates for national posts installed on some bus units could not be considered as “political advertisements.”

Candidates whose faces and campaign slogans are plastered on Metro Manila buses include administration standard-bearer Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro and re-electionist Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.

“As far as I’m concerned, the posters cannot be considered political ads. Pero kung ipatatanggal ng Comelec ay pagsasabihan namin ang mga bus operators,” Suansing told reporters in a briefing.

The LTFRB chief said he would not consider the huge posters on buses as “political ads” unless they bore the words “vote” or the political post the politician is running for.

The LTFRB, he said, also does not charge the operator for the posters despite an existing ruling of the agency that operators who want to install display ads in their units “should formally seek the permission of the agency in same manner that regular applications are filed.”

“We (LTFRB) presume that the bus operator is only doing so because he or she is supporting a particular candidate. O kaya napakiusapan lang ng kaibigan nilang kandidato na ilagay iyung mga posters niya sa mga bus,” Suansing said.

However, reports said some of the bus operators have entered in a contract with advertising outfits for the installation of the life-size posters of some candidates such as Enrile and Teodoro placed at the rear section of their buses. The operators get P8,000 monthly fee for the installation of the ads for every bus unit, according to reports.

Under Memorandum Circular 2007-08 of the LTFRB, operators who want to install display ads on their units should pay the corresponding filing fees prescribed by the board, which is P10,000 for the first five units for buses; P7,500 for the first five units for taxis; and P5,000 for the first five units for jeepneys and other modes of public transportation. The LTFRB rule also states that all advertising matters should conform to morality, decency, and public safety standards.

On the other hand, while the LTFRB relaxed its rule on political advertisements on PUVs, Suansing said it would strictly enforce its regulation against public utility vehicles offering free rides to campaign for a particular candidate especially on election day.