LTFRB officials involved in franchise issue replaced

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III has replaced two board members of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) responsible for the revival of nearly 500 expired franchises of bus company, Pantranco.

Aquino appointed Al Parreno to the LTFRB board replacing Manuel Iway, while Ronaldo Franco Corpuz will take the position left by Samuel Julius Garcia.

The President also appointed Ronaldo Franco Corpuz to take over the position vacated by Samuel Julius Garcia.

Iway and Garcia were the signatories of the decision to revive 489 Pantranco franchises, which according to Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas II have been considered "dead" franchises already.

Roxas publicly challenged the two officials to resign over their decision.

Iway denied irregularity in his decision, saying it was based on previous board decisions and was "in compliance with the decision of the Court of Appeals." He also denied claims that they received "compensation" for their favorable decision.

The Chief Executive also signed the appointment letter of Jaime Raphael Feliciano as assistant secretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), replacing George Esguerra. His term of office is co-terminus with the appointing authority.

Feliciano finished Bachelor of Arts Major in Management Economics from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1999. He obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines (UP) in 2003 and was admitted to the Bar in 2004.

He worked as senior associate of the Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles law firm. Prior to his appointment as Transportation and Communications assistant secretary, Feliciano served as DOTC director for Legal Services and Director for Infrastructure Projects since July, 2011.

The appointment letters were signed on July 10. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)