TRANSPORT group United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (Undoc) reiterated Wednesday its stance on the Oil Deregulation Law, saying "there's an urgent need for a congressional review of the said law."
Secretary General Jesse Ortega told Sun.Star that the said law has been rendered "inutile" by the government for it continuously killing the transport sector while feeding more the oil companies who is always at their advantage.
Ortega's statement came on the heels of the unabated and unstable trend in oil prices and control by oil companies of the country's economy.
"It (deregulation) is a transport killer law," he said. He added that Undoc has joined the petition in the national level, which the Supreme Court should not take it for granted because this is the plight of not only by the transport sector but the entire commuting and riding public.
Undoc also expressed its strong opposition to the controversial plan to tag motor vehicles in the country with the Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), which will push through next month after undergoing consultation and getting the nod of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
But Ortega said: "It will be an additional burden for the motorists group...it’s unconstitutional that even Neda has rejected the idea of having such."
The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) seek to install RFID tags on all 5.5 million motor vehicles in the country with each tag costing a motor vehicle owner P300 each.
Ortega opined that such charges are "impractical" and "debatable".
RFID is a cutting edge technology that uses radio waves to identify vehicles and related information remotely and in real time.
The use of this technology, according to LTO chief Arturo Lomibao, will allow the agency and other law enforcement agencies to access vehicle information to aid in traffic management, law enforcement and crime prevention.
The new system involves the tagging of a sticker on all vehicles. The sticker contains a microchip that will store vehicle information, which can only be retrieved by authorized LTO personnel and law enforcers, thereby eliminating tampering.
In Manila, the militant transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) meanwhile said it may hold mass actions starting next week to protest the project as it call on the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order against the RFID implementation. (GMD)