Republic of the Philippines

Department of Transportation and Communications

LAND TRANSPORTATION FRANCHISING AND REGULATORY BOARD
East Avenue, Quezon City
Through:
LTFRB
Region VI
Iloilo City

PERFECTO C. YAP doing

Business under the name
And style “STRYP MARKETING
AND SERVICES”,
Complainant,
Case No. 2014-VI-121 ILO
-versus-

JOSE ANTONIO RIVILLA,

Respondent.
xx---------------------------------xx

POSITION PAPER FOR COMPLAINANT

COMES NOW the COMPLAINANT by the undersigned Attorney and

to the Honorable Court, most respectfully submits its POSITION PAPER,
viz:

I. THE ANTECEDENT FACTS

1) Complainant is of legal age, married and with business

address at STRYP MARKETING AND SERVICES Lot 2, Blk 3,
Sta. Maria Street, Ledesco City Homes, Lapaz, Iloilo City.
Meanwhile, Respondent is of legal age, single and resident
of TR Taxi, Q. Abeto Street, Mandurriao, Iloilo City where he
may be served with summons and other processes that may
emanate from the Honorable Board;
2) Complainant is doing business under the name and style
`STRYP MARKETING AND SERVICES`. It is certified by
ECONOGAS TECHNOLOGY, INC. Among the services
complainant offers is the free installation of Auto-LPG
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 conversion devices on motor vehicles `in accordance with
the specifications provided for under the Standard Code of
Practice for the use of LPG`. (Copy of Certification issued by
DTI is appended as ANNEX A). The free installation service
and entrustment of the Auto-LPG conversion device is
conditioned upon the beneficiary`s commitment to have his
Autos refilled with Auto LPG only by STRYP MARKETING
SERVICES who, will recoup its free installation costs from the
continued refilling;
3) Respondent sometime before June of 2012, had relayed to
complainant his interest in engaging in the taxi business. At
that time, only LPG-fed franchises were available such that
respondent had to entreat complainant to extend to
respondent free installation of Auto-LPG conversion devices
to his five (5) newly purchased motor vehicles which he
purveyed to be operated as taxis, viz:

Make Motor Number Chassis Number Plate Seq

or Numbe Numbe
Type r r
Toyota DL07799 MHKM1BE1FBK00091 FWZ- 1787
Avanz 3 738
a
Toyota DL26311 MHKM1BE1FBK00089 FWZ- 1786
Avanz 5 739
a
Toyota 2NZ6031935 NCP929047456 FWZ- 1657
552
Kia Rio G4LACPO2614 KNADM411AC609963 FWZ- 1681
2 7 591
Kia Rio G4LACPO2617 KNADM411AC609963 FWZ- 1682
0 9 590

Copy of LTFRB Region VI Franchise Verification dated

November 20, 2013 issued by Jesusa T. Sevilla, Records
Officer is appended as ANNEX B;

Because complainant was in earnest to extend the Auto-LPG

service to respondent, he agreed to install Auto-LPG conversion
device to respondent`s above-described units which paved the way
for respondent apply for, and obtain a Franchise to operate his five
(5) taxi units subject to the condition that it has to be run by LPG
fuel. Copies of Certificate of Conversion or Installations as
ANNEXES C to G, inclusive. These were the certifications which
respondent appended to his application for franchise in order to

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 be compliant with the requirements when he filed his application
with the LTFRB, Region VI office. The requirement is embodied in
LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2012-005;

4) Reneging on his commitment to complainant by refusing,

notwithstanding repeated verbal and written demands to
have his units refilled at STRYP, complainant demanded from
respondent to return the conversion devices but the latter
was recalcitrant until complainant sent him a legal demand
copy of which is appended as ANNEX H;
5) Finally on 15 January 2014, respondent returned the
conversion devices although he refused to sign an
acknowledgment that the said devices were not damaged.
Copies of Statement of Account and Certification are hereto
appended as ANNEXES I and J, respectively;
6) Having now returned the LPG Conversion Devices for all of
his five (5) taxi units described above, respondent is now
operating his taxi units in violation of his approved franchise
, viz:
 To be run LPG-fed
 The Conversion must be those which had been
certified by ECONOGAS Technology Inc

7) As it stands now, while respondent is still operating his taxi

units (TR Taxi), he is committing a continuing violation of his
franchise.
8) His franchise is now deemed eschewed because while his
franchise is conditioned upon his operating an LPG-fed or run
units, his units are no longer LPG-fed or run. And this, has
been a continuing violation right from the start of the grant
of the franchise.

I. DISCUSSION

There is no gainsaying that the activity of operating a taxi business

is only by virtue of a “franchise”. The franchise is only a grant which is
subject to terms and conditions as stated in the order granting such
franchise issued by the LTFRB.

In the case at hand, the respondent TR Taxi was granted a

franchise to operate its taxi-units which must be run by LPG. The Order
granting such franchise is currently part of the records of LTFRB Iloilo
Regional Office VI.

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 The basis for this is no less than the memorandum circular which is
reproduced for ready reference, thus:

Page 4 of 7
 Ostensibly, when respondent TR Taxi applied for, and was granted
a Franchise to operate an LPG-run taxi business, the underlying reason
and condition was that the units had to be LPG-run. This was also TR
Taxi’s representation in its application when it filed a sworn application
to the LTFRB.

Thus, when TR taxi therefore operated its taxi business by NOT

using LPG, it VIOLATED its franchise.

As a precedent, just of late, the LTFRB main office cancelled a bus

franchise on the ground of “failure to follow the terms and conditions of
its permit” relative to the accident which happened in December 2013
and the decision was handed down on January 2014. The news1 reported
thus:

The Don Mariano franchise was cancelled in January this year because
the company failed to follow the terms and conditions of its permit and
neglected to ensure safety in its operations. During the LTFRB's regular
hearing, Chairman Winston Ginez said the board denied the motion for
reconsideration for "lack of merit."

Here, obviously, TR taxi did not only fail to observe the terms and
conditions of its franchise but, worse, worryingly, there is reason to
believe that TR taxi committed “fraud” or “misrepresentation” when it
filed a sworn application for franchise to operate LPG run taxi units but
as it appears, premeditatedly, he had the pre-conceived plan to just
obtain an LPG run franchise but had no plan at all to abide by the same.

III. PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed

that the because of this violation, respondents franchises for all five (5)
taxi units above-described, be REVOKED or CANCELLED.

Perforce, TR Taxi should be ordered to CEASE and DESIST from

operating any of the five taxi units or any taxi unit for that matter above-
described immediately.

Iloilo City, Philippines, 16 June 2014.

1
Www.rapler.com and Inquirer.Net Jan 14 2014

Page 5 of 7
 REYES and REYES LAW OFFICE
Counsel for the Complainant
Branch Office: Suites 4 & 5, 2/F Luis Hervas, Bldg.,
Ledesma St., (Tanza), Iloilo City
Tel Nos. (033) 503-3267
E-mail Ad: etreyesiii@yahoo.com

By:

EDUARDO T. REYES, III

P.T.R. NO. 4406705/ Iloilo City/ 06 January 2014
IBP No.944480/ Iloilo City/ 06 January 2014
Attorney’s Roll No. 44832
MCLE Certificate of Compliance No. IV-0001640
22 February 2011
MCLE Certificate of Compliance No. V-0001838
23 April 2014

Republic of the Philippines)

Iloilo City ) S.c.
xx--------------------------------xx

VERTIFICATION/CERTIFICATION
AGAINST NON-FORUM SHOPPING

I, PERFECTO C. YAP, of legal age, and with postal address located

at STRYP MARKETING AND SERVICES INC, Lot 2, Blk. 3, Sta. Maria Street.,
Ledesco City Homes, Lapaz, Iloilo City, after having been sworn to in
accordance with law do hereby depose and say that:

1. I am the Complainant in the above-captioned case;

2. I have caused the preparation of the foregoing POSITION
PAPER and have read the contents thereof, and know the same
to be true and correct of our own personal knowledge or based
on authentic records;
3. I have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving
the same issues in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals or any
other tribunal or agency and to the best of our knowledge no

Page 6 of 7
 such action or proceeding is pending before the Supreme Court,
the Court of Appeals or other tribunal or agency;
4. If I should learn that a similar action or proceedings have been
filed or is pending in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals or
any other tribunal or agency, we undertake to report such fact
within five (5) days therefrom to the court or agency where the
original pleading or sworn certification contemplated herein
has been filed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

_________ day of June, 2014 in the City of Iloilo, Philippines.

PERFECTO C. YAP
Affiant

BEFORE ME, A Notary Public for and in the above jurisdiction, this
_________ day of June, 2014, at Iloilo City, Philippines, personally
appeared:

NAME GOVERNMENT I.D. NO.

DATE/PLACE ISSUED

PERFECTO C. YAP

personally known to me and/or identified by me through competent

evidence of identity as defined by the Rules on Notarial Practice pursuant
to Supreme Court EN BANC A.M. No. 02-8-13 SC Resolution. That the
herein persons represented to me that the signature on the instrument
or document, particularly this _________________ consisting of
(______) pages, including this page, are voluntarily affixed by them as
their free and voluntary act and deed and they avowed under penalty of
law to the whole truth of the contents of the foregoing.
WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL on the date and place first above-
written.
Doc. No. ____; __________________
Page No. ____;
Book No. _____;
Series of 2014.

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