SC asked to nullify regulation banning bus terminals along EDSA

AKO Bicol Party-list asked the Supreme Court (SC) to nullify the Metropolitan Development Authority’s (MMDA) March 2019 regulation which prohibits the issuance of permits to bus terminals and operators along EDSA. In a 45-page petition filed Monday, AKO Bicol said the regulation should be declared unconstitutional as it violates the right to due process given the lack of public consultation. It added that the MMDA and the Metro Manila Council “arbitrarily, whimsically and capriciously acted on a mere verbal directive” of President Rodrigo R. Duterte during a cabinet meeting, which lead to the “hasty approval and initial implementation” of the regulation. MMDA Regulation No. 19-002 prohibits or revokes the issuance of permits to all public utility vehicle (PUV) terminals and operators along EDSA starting June 2019, citing that PUVs “greatly contribute” to the traffic congestion along the main road. AKO Bicol also said that the planned closure of terminals is contradictory to the Public Service Act and other related laws which provide that public utilities should maintain their own terminals as requisite for privilege of operating as common carriers. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas