TNVS drivers file graft raps vs LTFRB-3 chief

A group of ride-hailing drivers and operators has filed graft charges against LTFRB Region III officials, including former Regional Director Retired General Richard Albano, before the Office of the Ombudsman this past weekend.

The complainants, drivers and small operators affiliated with HAIL TRANSPORT INC. (HAIL), said they applied to operate legally under HAIL as Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) providers, but were blocked from doing so by Albano.

In a joint affidavit, the drivers urged that Albano be placed under preventive suspension to preserve evidence, arguing that his actions “caused serious and measurable undue injury to hundreds of families — affecting food on the table, rent, school fees, medical needs, and the dignity of honest work.”

“We are TNVS driver-applicants and small operators who intended to operate with HAIL in Region III,” the group said. “Many of us are sole breadwinners. Some are returning OFWs, some are former factory workers, and some invested their savings into a single vehicle to support our families.”

They said they aligned with HAIL because they wanted lawful employment, formal systems, safer operations, and transparent processing of applications in line with LTFRB regulations.

According to the complaint, on 25 September 2025, the LTFRB Board issued Board Resolution No. 321, authorizing 650 additional TNVS slots for Region III, “with routing stated as ‘ANY POINT IN REGION III,’” without limitation or phased release.

“For ordinary people like us, a Board Resolution is a government directive we can trust,” the affidavit read. “When the government says there are 650 slots, we expect fair and transparent processing. Many of us purchased vehicles through bank financing, dealer financing, cooperative loans, or even high-interest lending — some vehicles costing several hundred thousand pesos to over a million pesos.”

But the group said implementation at LTFRB Region III was arbitrary and exclusionary. Instead of opening all 650 slots, only 250 slots were initially available, with access strictly controlled. This left many applicants’ vehicles sitting idle while monthly payments and family obligations piled up.

Drivers also claimed that some applicants were told, directly or indirectly, that inclusion in the available slots required payments of P150,000 to P200,000 per slot. “For ordinary drivers, these amounts are not just unreasonable — they are impossible without debt, pawning, or selling family assets,” the group said.

The drivers submitted these sworn statements as a record of what ordinary applicants experienced firsthand, highlighting alleged mismanagement and potential corruption at LTFRB Region III.