LAND Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Iloilo City is asking the riding public to ask for receipt whenever taking a taxi.
LTFRB Regional Director Porfrio Clavel admitted that the receipt is mandatory requirement of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), yet only few taxicab operators and drivers are issuing the receipt to the passengers.
However, Clavel said taxi operators and drivers are mandated to issue a receipt only if the passengers demand it.
Clavel also said that Western Visayas is the first region outside of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) in Metro Manila to have some air conditioned taxis with meter issuing receipts.
Ulat sa Bayan, a forum by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), was held Friday at the Sarabia Manor Hotel here and participated by six government agencies in the region under the Regional Management Council (RMC). These are the DOTC, Philippine Ports Authority, Land Transportation Office, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Maritime Industry Authority, and Philippine Post Guard.
Clavel said the LTFRB is modernizing public utility vehicles in the region by decommissioning and re-fleeting public utility buses that are more than 15 years old, and taxis and Asian utility vehicles that are more than 13 years old.
LTFRB is also allowing the substitution of old units but the granting of the Certificate of Conveyance to second hand imported units was banned.
The office also grants and modifies routes to support the roll-on roll-off Strong Republic Nautical Highway program of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. (LCP)