STOP IT! | Public transport drivers and operators march in protest on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023, in Manila against the public utility vehicle modernization program that forces them to join cooperatives or corporations and operate expensive new “jeepneys” by Dec. 31, 2023. Otherwise, they will be out of a job in the New Year. (Photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The transport group Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide) has asked the Supreme Court to immediately rule on its petition to stop the Department of Transportation (DOTr) from imposing its Dec. 31 franchise application deadline for public utility vehicles (PUVs), particularly jeepneys.
In its “Extremely Urgent Motion” on Thursday, Piston appealed to the court to decide in favor of its petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the DOTr “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.”
As part of the government’s PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP), jeepney operators are required to “consolidate” into cooperatives or corporations before applying for new franchises for their vehicles, which are supposed to be replaced with at least Euro 4-compliant engines for road safety and to reduce air pollution.
Piston, along with other transport and commuter groups, is opposing the year-end deadline because of the huge costs entailed in acquiring the so-called modern jeepneys. As a result, about 140,000 drivers and operators would be unemployed by January, it said.
“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 canceled on Jan. 1, 2024,” according to the group’s petition.
10 days to reply
It is unlikely, however, that the Supreme Court will have enough time before the New Year, to make a ruling. It ordered the DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) only on Thursday to respond to Piston’s Dec. 19 petition within 10 days.
Bayan Muna chair Neri Colmenares, Piston’s lawyer, told reporters on Thursday that the LTFRB itself, through its recently released Circular No. 2023-52, admitted that not only old jeepneys but public transport routes were not ready for the PUVMP.
“With the fatal admission that there are many routes that still do not have a route rationalization plan … DOTR and LTFRB cannot just order jeepneys to ‘modernize’ but still use obsolete old routes that have not been rationalized and planned out,” Colmenares said.
“There will be routes with less or no PUVs if these old routes are used,” he added.
Colmenares said the circular also admitted that there were routes served by PUVs that were less than 60-percent consolidated.“The LTFRB and DOTr have been feeding the public misinformation that 70 percent of PUVs have consolidated only to admit now that such is not the case,” he added.
Piston and transport group Manibela (Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers) earlier disputed the government’s figures, saying that only 26 percent of jeepneys and 36 percent of UV Express vehicles in Metro Manila have so far complied with the consolidation requirement.
No deadline extension
Malacañang on Friday repeated President Marcos’ statement that there would be no extension of the Dec. 31 deadline for PUV consolidation.
A day earlier, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista also said “the PUV consolidation deadline stays.”
“Rest assured that your government is committed to making this program work as this aligns with the goal of the Marcos administration on easing the plight of commuters by ensuring cleaner and safer means of public transportation for the riding public,” Bautista said.
The LTFRB on Thursday said nonconsolidated jeepneys would be allowed to ply certain routes until Jan. 31 next year.
The one-month extension given by the LTFRB and the DOTr “was just a stop-gap measure” so that officials would not be embarrassed with the expected public transport failure that would hit the roads when people return to work and schools on Jan. 3, according to Manibela president Mar Valbuena.
Transport officials, however, assured the public that there would be no transportation crisis after the holidays.
“All of the major thoroughfares, especially in Metro Manila, have consolidated entities already, so that is also one of the reasons why we can say that there will be no transportation crisis,” LTFRB board member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said at press conference on Friday.
According to LTFRB officials, a number of operators have filed their petitions to consolidate in December following the President’s ultimatum.
They cited no updated figures but said that as of November, 70 percent, or 153,787, of the 222,617 PUVs nationwide — composed of jeepneys, UV Express vans and buses — have already joined in 1,739 cooperatives.
At that time, the National Capital Region (NCR) had the lowest consolidation rate of only 26 percent (13,470 out of 51,984 PUV units).
Zona Russet Tamayo, regional director of LTFRB-NCR, said the consolidation figures have slightly improved since then.
Citing the LTFRB-NCR’s Dec. 29 data, Tamayo said that a total of 17,152 PUV units, or 34.9 percent of jeepneys and UV Express vans, have consolidated into cooperatives. They cover 317 jeepney routes and 81 UV Express routes, the “majority” of which traverse Metro Manila’s major roads, she said.
“Majority of routes in which PUVs have not yet consolidated consist primarily of short-distance routes, which are also being traversed by other routes of consolidated PUVs that can still cater to passengers in those areas,” Tamayo explained.
In addition, there are buses, trains, taxis, motorcycle taxis, transport network vehicle services, and tricycles which also serve these routes, she added.
One-time cash aid
“We can say that we can meet the demand for public transport come January,” Tamayo said.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said jeepney drivers who would be affected by the modernization program may be qualified to receive a one-time cash aid under its Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).
Miramel Laxa, director of the DSWD’s Program Management Bureau, said these drivers could receive P5,000 to P10,000, depending on the assessment of social workers.
“It is possible that they (jeepney drivers) can avail of AICS since they can be categorized as [individuals] in crisis,” Laxa said in a statement. “Availing of AICS can help them meet their basic needs through different forms of assistance, such as food, and cash aid, among others.”