Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 3) — Authorities plan to appeal the court order stopping the planned implementation of the provincial bus ban on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA).
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) told CNN Philippines Friday night it has been coordinating with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for their next move.
“We’re going to consult our lawyers, the state counsel being the office of the Solicitor General to seek the court to lift its earlier relief,” LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra said.
For now, he stressed, “we will honor the injunction order of the court.”
The Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223 on Wednesday granted the petition of a number of bus companies for a writ of preliminary injunction on the long-delayed plan to prohibit all provincial buses from passing EDSA. The court ruled that there was “abuse” in the issuance of the LTFRB memorandum circular that prohibits provincial buses on EDSA, and of the MMDA regulation revoking the business permits of all provincial bus terminals along the busy thoroughfare.
Under the proposal, buses from northern Luzon should drop off all passengers at a terminal in Valenzuela City, while commuters from the south will have to alight at a terminal either in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, or in Parañaque City. From there, they will have to take another ride to reach Manila. Netizens and lawmakers have widely opposed the traffic scheme, which also faces petitions for a temporary restraining order before the Supreme Court.
The MMDA staged a dry run for the highly contested bus ban on April 21 but called it off two weeks later to iron out the details on guidelines for the operation.
The court’s order also preempts what could have been a dry run on August 7.
