The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has reminded the public to always follow public transportation etiquette.

This comes after a video of a man peeing outside a bus tire in front of SM Ecoland went viral online. Internet users commented on the video and even claimed the man was the bus driver.

But Ernest Benz Davila, the legal officer of LTFRB XI, refuted the accusations, stating that the individual was a bus passenger.

He said they invited the operator, driver and conductor to shed light on the issue and found out that both driver and conductor did not notice that the man was peeing since it happened at the bus stop, and the passengers were getting on and off the bus.

“According to them, usa daw to ka pasahero nila, kay tungod paspas pod ang panghitabo wala na nila nakita nga naa pa’y tao nagpabilin sa baba, unya nisulod daw pagbalik paghuman (According to them, it was one of their passengers, because the incident happened so fast, they didn’t see that there was still someone staying, then he went back inside afterwards),” he said.

He said part of the condition in giving the franchise to operators is their responsibility to provide safe, adequate, comfortable, dependable, and environment-friendly of land transportation.

He said the operator will be penalized if they get solid evidence that they have broken any terms and conditions.

“Naa ta’y penalty for the first offense, second offense, and third offense. For example sa first offense mubayad siya og fines and a penalty of P5,000, kung ika-duha na P10,000, and ika-tulo subsequent offenses P15,000 (We have a penalty for our first, second, and third offense. For example on our first offense, he will pay a fine and a penalty of P5,000, on his second and third offense it will be P10,000, P15,000 subsequently),” he said.

He said they are still reviewing the operator’s testimony and urging operators, drivers and conductors to always monitor their passengers to avoid such incidents to happen.

He also urged the public to always follow public transportation etiquette.

“Sa atoang mga commuters, ipakita nato nga disiplinado ta, kay di ba, Basta Dabawenyo, Disiplinado. So, we can show this discipline by following the traffic laws, rules, and regulations, and by following basic etiquette nato,” he said. CIO