MANILA — Transport group Manibela on Monday vowed that more protest actions will be held after the deadline on the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUVs) ended on December 31.
“Our advice to the local leaders of different (transport) associations was to celebrate the New Year with their family. We will hold another general assembly to discuss when we will implement previous plans (of protest actions),” Manibela president Mar Valbuena said in a radio interview.
Valbuena added that members of Manibela and Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) trooped to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) main office in Quezon City on Sunday and held a noise barrage to coincide with the 5 p.m. deadline set by the LTFRB and Department of Transportation (DOTr).
“Our protest actions did not end on Dec. 29. We should expect bigger mobilizations,” Valbuena said.
Piston president Mody Floranda has said 300 units and more than 7,000 jeepney drivers and operators joined the caravan and mobilization on Dec. 29.
The LTFRB has allowed unconsolidated PUVs to continue plying select routes for a month after the Dec. 31 deadline or until Jan. 31, but a show-cause order will be issued against them for failure to comply with the consolidation requirement.
“We know the reason why we were given one more month as the government does not want to be embarrassed that there will be a shortage in the public transport for our riding public,” Valbuena added.
Valbuena maintained that the deadline set for the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP) has no benefit to the operators, drivers and passengers.
At the same time, Valbuena said 2024 will be a big challenge not only to the drivers and operators, but most especially, to the consumers.
“It will also affect the government coffer as instead of using the funds for different social services, the money will be spent in free rides for those affected,” Valbuena said.
He added that transport groups are still hoping that the traditional jeepney will still be allowed to operate after the Jan. 31 one-month extension.
“We are firm in our position that authorities should not force us to join the consolidation and should not be the center of the PUVMP as we only need to modernize our jeepneys and be compliant,” Valbuena maintained, adding that modernization can be done without forming cooperatives and applying for millions in loans.
According to Valbuena, many of the modernized minibuses were junked and left the members of cooperatives millions in debt.
Office of Transportation Cooperatives chairman Andy Ortega has said that the deadline for consolidation ended at 5 p.m. despite the one-month extension or until Jan. 31, 2024 given to traditional jeepneys to operate.
Ortega said that in December 2023 alone, at least 100 transport groups filed an application for the government’s PUVMP. He added that the final number of PUJs covered by the PUVM will be known days after the Dec. 31 deadline.
