Transport group Piston National President Mody Floranda (left), counsel Atty. Neri Colmenares (center), and Atty. Krissy Conti of National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers – National Capital Region (right) pose in front of Supreme Court on Thursday, December 28, 2023 after filing a supplemental motion seeking to speed up the court’s decision on a previous appeal to block the December 31 deadline for the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles in the country.
MANILA, Philippines — Supreme Court (SC) has been asked to expedite a decision on the December 31 deadline for consolidating the franchises of Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) in the country.
Transport group Piston and its legal representatives have filed a supplemental motion to SC for this purpose.
They are seeking to speed up the High Court’s resolution on an earlier petition for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on the PUV modernization program’s deadline.
“The petitioners likewise pray for the immediate issuance of a TRO to prevent the grave and irreparable injury that the petitioners, the jeepney drivers and operators, their families, the commuters and the public in general will suffer,” the supplemental motion read.
According to the motion, an estimated 140,000 drivers and operators will lose their jobs if the executive branch will enforce the deadline.
“Millions of drivers, operators and their families, as well as commuters all over the country will experience a severe impact on their income and livelihood should the franchise of thousands of PUV operators be cancelled on January 1, 2024,” it added.
Under the modernization program, individual operators who will fail to file an application for consolidation on or before December 31 will no longer be allowed to organize into or join existing transport cooperatives.
In its petition, Piston had argued more than 28 million Filipinos will shoulder the effects of a looming mass transport crisis if PUV modernization program will proceed with full implementation.
In response, SC had ordered Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to respond to the petition against the program.