THEY say Filipinos can get away with anything.
When the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 recently announced that it would strictly implement its "no standing" policy in Public Utility Buses to prevent overloading, it did not take long for Filipino passengers to find unusual ways to catch the bus.
Facebook user, Lyndon Placencia, posted a photo on the platform showing passengers lying on the floor of a bus bound for Bantayan town, Cebu.
His caption read: "BAWAL ANG MAG BAROG SULOD SA BUS... DI MUHIGDA NALANG... Kagabie while niuli ko padulong sa amoa."
(Standing inside the bus is no longer allowed... lying down it is then... this was taken last night while I was trying to get home.)
In the photo he posted, monoblock chairrs can be seen in the middle of the aisle which Placencia confirmed catered to passengers who were made to sit down, stretching the orders mandated by the LTFRB.
"Tungod lage nga 12 midnight pa ang schedule sa next trip mao na miingon nalang ang kundoktor nga sa stall o extension nalang sila mu lingkod," Placencia said.
(Because the schedule of the next trip was at 12 midnight, the conductor said that they sit in the stalls or the extension.)
The ticket collector of the bus gave the passengers a free pass, insisting that some of them may be tired from the overnight travel.
"Okay ra man nila. Siguro gikapoy to sa ilang byahe mao na pagbalik og saka sa konduktor mao nato iyang naabtan nanghigda na."
(They were okay about it. Maybe the passengers were just too tired that's why when the conducter came in, he already saw the passengers lying on the floor and let them be.")
Bus operators whose drivers are caught violating the policy could face fines of P5,000 for the first offense and more in subsequent offenses, said LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr.
Montealto told Superbalita Cebu that the policy has been in effect since 2005.
Overloading in public utility vehicles is prohibited under Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, and the LTFRB Joint Administrative Order 2014-01.
Is this another case of Filipinos outsmarting the law? (KAL/JGS)