DOTr: Old, but roadworthy jeepneys OK on roads beyond 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Old jeepney units that will pass a roadworthiness test will be allowed to continue serving their routes beyond 2020 despite the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

During the plenary deliberation on the proposed 2020 budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the agency had agreed to allow public utility jeepneys “to ply on the road as long as they pass the motor vehicle inspection system or roadworthiness test.”

Sen. Grace Poe, the chairperson of the Senate Public Services Committee, had earlier appealed to the DOTr to let old vehicles that pass roadworthiness tests stay on the road.

The DOTr’s PUV modernization program, which was launched in 2017 to rationalize the country’s public transportation system, requires jeepney operators to replace their old units with Euro-4 powered, industry-standard units.

Poe said the DOTr had admitted during previous budget hearings that it has only so far modernized 2,595 jeepney units or 1.5 percent of its target since the program’s inception.

“This is a bit off target,” she said.

Nevertheless, Poe welcomed DOTr’s decision to scale down its modernization program.

“This is actually also for their sake, I mean it will be a lot more pragmatic for us, expedient that if it’s still pliable, if it’s safe and then it doesn’t have any adverse emissions, that it be allowed and then it will also save a lot,” she said.

GSG