MANILA – Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista on Thursday said April 30 will be the final chance for jeepney drivers and operators to consolidate under the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).
“I think this will be the last and final extension. This is the eighth time that we are extending the deadline,” Bautista said in a press briefing.
Following Bautista’s recommendation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday extended the franchise consolidation for another three months.
Bautista said he made the recommendation after meeting with transport groups who did not make the December 31 deadline, but are still willing to go through with the consolidation process.
He said the nationwide consolidation rate of 76 percent is already enough, since the study for the PUVMP did not require 100 percent because of duplication of franchises in some routes.
“Let’s say we get another 10 percent, I think that it’s more than enough to implement the program,” Bautista said.
Based on the Memorandum Circular 2023-051 of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) approved on December 14, all provisional authorities issued to individual operators of traditional jeepneys in all routes without consolidated transport service entities (TSEs) are deemed revoked effective last January 1.
Operators will not be allowed to register their units as PUVs.
So as not to hamper public transportation, operators in unconsolidated routes were allowed to operate until January 31 pending the assignment of other routes for those who have yet to be consolidated.
LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz 3rd said apprehensions of unconsolidated PUV units, which were supposed to start on February 1, will no longer happen.
Guadiz said during the same press briefing that the agency has been receiving motions for reconsideration to allow the late filing for consolidation.
The PUVMP aims to replace traditional jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to reduce pollution and replace units that were deemed not roadworthy by the Land Transportation Office (LTO).
The consolidation of individual PUV franchises into cooperatives or corporations is the initial stage of the modernization program.
Transport groups have petitioned the Supreme Court to stop the implementation of the PUVMP.
Two groups opposed to the program welcomed the deadline extension.
In a Facebook post in Filipino, the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) said the strike they stage to protest the program has paid off.
“Thousands of drivers and jeepney operators, as well as millions of commuters, have been successful for now,” Piston wrote.
“Because of our untiring collective action and the determination to defend our rights and livelihoods, we have pushed the Marcos regime to extend the deadline to April 30,” it said.
Piston said it will not stop calling on the government to scrap the PUVMP altogether.
“Let us continue to act until the business and foreigner-friendly PUVMP is scrapped and fight for progressive, patriotic and inclusive public transportation,” the group said.
The Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (Manibela) said extending the deadline “will not immediately scrap the sloppy PUV modernization program, but it will serve as a springboard for us to make more noise in the campaign until it is completely scrapped.”
Manibela also said PUV operators who have consolidated are welcome to their group.
Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito said in a statement on Thursday the three-month extension will ensure that the modernization process is conducive to operators and drivers.
Ejercito lauded Marcos for extending the deadline.
He said it will give “more time for those who want to partner with the government to solve worsening transportation problems and offer reliable services to Filipino commuters.”
Sen. Maria Imelda Josefa “Imee” Marcos said this additional time should be used not only to allow jeepney drivers to consolidate.
“This period should be used to come up with a better solution to allow our jeepney drivers and owners to continue with their livelihood,” Marcos said.
Sen. Mary Grace Poe said the three-month extension of the jeepney consolidation can be “best utilized by conducting a thorough review of the program to see its gains and better understand the defiance of some groups to it.”
Putting the brakes on the PUV modernization program “is a far reaching initiative when the welfare of our commuting public and the livelihood of thousands of drivers are at stake,” the chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Services said.
Poe said the “high cost of the new vehicles has proven to be a big stumbling block to the rollout of modernization, and should not be ignored.”
“Reports of idle units and missed amortization payments by some consolidated groups must be looked into to see the viability of the program,” she said.
Poe said transport officials “should also be open to low cost alternatives such as rehabilitation of jeepneys that are roadworthy to make them environmentally compliant.”
“Modernization is not just about consolidation and throwing to the junkyard our iconic jeepneys,” she said. “It should be about rejuvenating our transportation landscape to make it safer and more reliable to our commuters, and at the same time sustainable to our drivers and operators.”
Marcos said instead of phasing out traditional jeepneys, “we need a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes the needs of all Filipinos.”
