The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has dispensed with the conduct of a formal hearing in all Applications for Extension of Validity of the Certificates of Public Convenience (CPC) to fast track the transaction process.
The move is part of the entire effort to facilitate government services in line with the instruction of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. to comply with the law on ease of doing business in the country pursuant to the Public Service Act, as amended, Republic Act No. 11032 (Ease of Doing Business).
The CPC is a document that authorizes the operation of a public utility vehicle, and an application for renewal is not an original process. It is a continuation of an already-established franchise, requiring only a showing that the operator has maintained compliance with the conditions under which the CPC was previously granted.
And for units that have remained true to their commitment to providing good public transportation service, there is no need for another hearing to extend CPC validity, according to LTFRB Chairman Vigor D. Mendoza II.
“Renewing a CPC is different from applying for the first time. For CPC renewal, the public need for the service had already been proven, and the operator had already been found qualified to run it. The renewal is simply asking to keep doing what was already allowed,” said Chairman Vigor.
Earlier, Chairman Vigor and the rest of the LTFRB officials issued Memorandum Circular No. 2026-035, dispensing with the publication of notice of hearing in newspapers of general circulation, in a move to fast-track the entire franchise application process.
“Our goal is clear, to make everything easy and comfortable for all our clients and to make them feel that they are essential partners of the national government in the interest of the riding public,” said Chairman Vigor.
“We are on the right track in doing so, and we are confident that the ease of the transactions that our client would experience would translate to further improvement of services to millions of Filipino commuters,” he added.
Under Memorandum Circular 2026-038, signed on May 19, Chairman Vigor said that all operators are, however, mandated to have a working, valid email address that will serve as the line of communication for all notices and processes of the Board.
He added that the e-mail will also serve as a platform for submitting documents as part of the national government’s digitalization efforts, including those of the LTFRB.
The Memorandum Circular is expected to take effect before the end of this month.
