A PARTY-list lawmaker on Tuesday said the requirement for handwritten passenger manifests for public utility vehicles (PUVs) in general community quarantine areas would be burdensome for both the drivers and commuters.
In a statement, AKO BICOL Rep. Alfredo Garbin said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) could find better solutions, such as a unique QR code, which commuters can scan each time to get on and off a public transport unit.
“Perhaps the DICT (Department of Information and Communications Technology) and private IT experts can come up with other easy-to-use solutions for all forms of land, sea, and air passenger transport, so that the entire transport system can have a much more accurate and reliable system than the ancient manual sign-up method,” he said.
“Hindi dapat pahirapan ang drivers at transport associations sa pagtatala ng mga pasahero. Maging maingat tayo nang sobra sa personal na impormasyon ng mga tao (We should not burden the drivers and transport associations to keep a record of passengers. Let’s be extremely cautious in handling personal information),” he added.
He said it would be better if an electronic payment system is established to ensure a more accurate recording not only of passengers but also the earnings of the driver on his daily trips.
“The archaic thinking at LTFRB is again indicative of how ancient their mindsets are, partly because their charters and other laws they operate by are just as ancient,” he said.
“The Covid-19 (coronavirus disease) crisis is therefore yet another reminder to Congress to urgently replace our obsolete transportation laws,” he added.
In its Memorandum Circular (MC) 2020-018 released on Friday, all PUVs will be required to keep a daily record of passengers for contact tracing that would be made available at the request of LTFRB and other government agencies.
All taxis and transport network vehicle services operating in areas placed under general community quarantine would also be required to implement cashless or online payment for all transactions to contain the spread of Covid-19. (By Filane Mikee Cervantes)
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