By Cyrus A. Natividad
Centralians at LTFRB pose for a group picture.
Public transportation is a vital force that every nation needs to move its economy forward in the wake of the economic slump due to the global coronavirus pandemic. While the urban transport sector struggles to fight the daily challenges, local transport groups in Iloilo City are working hand in hand with state agencies in facing financial turmoil.
Adhering to their mandate to provide unparalleled service to the public, officials, and personnel of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Western Visayas continue to assist the troubled transport sectors in Iloilo City and the rest of Region VI.
These LTFRB-6 public servants, who are mostly alumni of Central Philippine University wasted no time in tackling their responsibilities to aid various transport groups in the region.
Records from the regional board show that almost 80 percent of more than 20,000 jeepney operators and drivers received their special permits required before mass transport could ply the streets during the pandemic.
The LTFRB-6, under the esteemed leadership of Regional Director Richard Osmeña and supervision of Janet Solinap, Chief of Transportation Development Officer, has been in the frontline days after President Rodrigo Duterte placed the country under a State of Public Health Emergency to contain the spread of the pandemic COVID-19.
Apart from issuance of special permits during the quarantine period, the regional board also initiated deployment of free rides to stranded passengers, and active operations against overcharging, social distancing protocol inside PUVs, and franchise violations, among others.
Janet Solinap, Chief of Transportation Development Officer and Neva Jane Sionosa-Alfaras, LTFRB-6 Administrative Officer V, are both CPU alumni.
They both took up Bachelor of Science in Commerce and graduated in 1985 before they pursued their respective careers.
Alfaras, in an interview, said that LTFRB is coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development Office in certifying bonafide jeepney drivers to receive the Social Amelioration Program assistance from the national government.
Engr. Barry Jone Matutina, GSIS Specialist II of LTFRB-6’s PUVMP, is also a Centralian.
Matutina and Sureride Engineering and Business Solutions have developed a smartphone-based contact-tracing application.
The application is now being used by LTFRB-6, Western Visayas Medical Center, and soon by the Iloilo Provincial Government.
“Majority of our employees are Centralians and are handling critical and vital positions in LTFRB-6,” said Matutina.
The other Centralians who chose to work with LTFRB-6 to provide public service are Korine Pastor-Andrino, LTFRB-6 accountant II; Engr. Joshua Gaguit, PUVMP-RPMO6 Planning Officer III; and Jeff Sinoben, the debonair technical assistant of PUVMP.