Last week, several major media outlets ran a sob story for those who fancy nostalgia: Philtranco, the country’s oldest bus company, is closing down on March 30, 2026.

The reports were based on a leaked internal memo from the company announcing management’s plan for an “Official Business Stop Operation” by Philtranco Service Enterprises, Inc.

Well, we can’t blame our colleagues from the beat. If you Google the term, it refers to the “formal, legal, and documented process of ending a company’s activities, often described as closing, retiring, or ceasing business operations.”

Read further, and you’ll see that “this process involves stopping all normal activities, selling goods or providing services, and formally notifying government agencies to terminate the legal existence of the business.”

So, just when I was putting some final touches to my belated piece about this, I came across a Facebook post from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board last February 18. In it, the agency shared that representatives of PSEI had a courtesy call with LTFRB chief Vigor Mendoza.

The post, however, did not elaborate on what was discussed in the meeting. So I tried to wait and see first if there would be further developments to this story.

While at it, I found myself asking: So, is Philtranco really closing down? If you base it on the above definition, it certainly seems that way.

But in another Facebook post yesterday (February 19), the company tried to clear the air. In a statement, the firm clarified that company president Michael Sabban’s directive was to temporarily suspend Philtranco’s operations.

Just to be sure, we Googled further and found that “Official Business Stop Operation” could also mean that a company would temporarily stop operating for up to six months without terminating its relationship with its employees.

However, the leaked memo that went viral did not elaborate on this, leading many to believe that the company is indeed closing down. It didn’t help that Philtranco changed the profile photo of its business page with a new logo.

Furthermore, the memo also didn’t explicitly say it was terminating the services of its employees. Instead, it wished them “strength and the very best” as they “push the path ahead”—as if they were really being let go.

While the latest post stressed that this directive does not mean the company’s permanent closure, it also failed to share any concrete plans or efforts to resuscitate and inject new life into the struggling bus company. Also, Philtranco limited who could actually comment on the post after several people insisted they still believed that the company was closing down.

So, what’s the real score then?

Philtranco has some explaining to do—not only for regulatory and legal purposes, but also for the sake of its customers who value the company’s legacy of more than a hundred years. For now, all we can do is wait for PSEI’s next move.