THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Thursday announced the lifting the prohibition on the sale and transfer of Certificates of Public Convenience (CPC) for Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs).
This came after transport groups as the Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas, Inc. requested the LTFRB to review Memorandum Circular 2016-010 that prohibits the transfer of CPCs to other operators.
Under Memorandum Circular 2023-027, or the “Guidelines on the Transfer of Certificate of Public Convenience,” essentially lifts the “prohibition on the acceptance of application for sale and transfer, whether voluntary or involuntary, of CPC.”
According to the LTFRB, lifting the prohibition makes it easier to distribute aid to beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pasada or Fuel Subsidy program of the government.
Also, operators may now easily join the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) since they are able to transfer and register their vehicles faster.
On applications for the transfer of CPCs, however, the agency listed conditions before such application is allowed. Chief among them requires the CPC subject for transfer “must be valid and subsisting at the time of the application,” and that “the transfer must also cover all authorized units under the subject CPC and that no fractional transfer of CPC shall be allowed.”
Also, “only two transfers shall be allowed during the validity of the CPC, provided that no transfer shall be allowed during the first year from the grant of CPC nor during the one year prior to the expiration of the validity of the CPC,” and the payment of appropriate fees.
Memorandum Circular 2016-010 was issued at the time to “solve the problem of commercialization of CPCs of so-called ‘buy-and-sell’ operators who abused and hijacked the franchising process by trafficking in CPCs/franchises at a huge profit instead of operating the same,” the agency explained.
After a review of MC 2016-010 and a series of consultative meetings, the agency decided to “set aside the prohibition” and provided “safeguards and parameters in the allowance of transfer of CPCs to deter the fraudulent schemes the aforementioned issuance aims to avoid.”
“The LTFRB is very mindful of the situation, and that is why we took careful consideration in the issuance of this circular. We needed to strike a balance between allowing a legitimate CPC transfer and at the same time deter any form of abuse,” Teofilo Guadiz, LTFRB chairperson said.
