Photo Release

RA 11311 prohibits transport terminals from collecting fees: Sen. Raffy Tulfo, during the continuation of the public hearing of the Committee on Public Services on Thursday, April 24, 2025 on several measures which seek to legislate the rights and welfare of land, air, and sea transport commuters discusses the result of his random inspections of different public terminals of bus companies. Tulfo said some sectors reacted negatively but “I don’t care. Let everyone who wants to be angry be angry. But I have to do what I have to do which means that I have to do my job as a public services committee chair.” He said he has been doing his job thoroughly and diligently since he started and he has been doing the same in his other committees. In one of his recent random visits in a bus terminal in Cebu, the senator found many violations, one of which is that the bus company was collecting fees for the use of its facilities such as comfort rooms. However, instead of addressing the issue, the senator said he was even accused of being “ignorant” of the law. Tulfo stressed that under Republic Act No. 11311, transport terminals are prohibited from collecting fees for the use of its sanitary facilities, thus the Cebu North Bus Terminal, which is being operated by the provincial local government of Cebu, committed a violation punishable by a fine of P5,000 for each day of the violation. The senator was told that the Department of the Interior and Local Government could file a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman for gross neglect of duty. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)