DOTr stands by jeepney phaseout despite strike

STRANDED Commuters wait for a ride on Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, after transport groups went on strike on Monday. —NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippinesd — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that it was standing by its July 2020 deadline for the phaseout of old jeepneys despite Monday’s nationwide transport strike that led to the suspension of classes and work in some parts of the country, including Metro Manila.

The DOTr must be “firm [about] the deadline or nothing is ever going to get done,” Transport Undersecretary for Roads Mark de Leon told the Inquirer on the sidelines of the country’s first Roads and Traffic Expo on Tuesday.

Opportunity for dialogue

“If we don’t set a deadline, then when [will it happen]?” he asked, adding that the transport strike was actually “an opportunity to engage again with the operators and drivers who still do not understand the program.”

Launched in 2017 to modernize and rationalize the country’s public transport [buses, jeeps, taxis, UV Express vans] system, the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP) had been opposed by jeepney operators and drivers who complained that the cost of shifting to Euro-4, industry-standard compliant vehicles was too steep.

Since the program’s inception, a total of 3,019 jeepneys and buses duly registered under 988 cooperatives have made the shift, according to De Leon.

Low compliance

The figure, however, represented just a fraction of the over 300,000 PUV units nationwide.

Still, De Leon expressed confidence that the DOTr would be able to meet its deadline.

“Our efforts to modernize our public transport [are] already in full swing. Even yesterday, there were many drivers and operators who were coming to us and asking for clarification on how to comply with the program,” he said.

Leaders of the transport strike on Monday challenged both the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to check the pulse of the masses about the PUVMP as they disputed government officials’ claims that many operators and drivers supported the program.

“They should look at the number of drivers who participated instead of the number of people who were stranded,” Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations chair Efren de Luna said.

Unlike MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago who described the strike as unsuccessful despite the government’s preemptive measures against its paralyzing effects, De Leon acknowledged that the mass action “did affect some routes in some areas.”