Sen. Raffy Tulfo hits plan to import jeepneys from China

Sen. Raffy Tulfo –Senate Social Media Unit / Joseph Vidal

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo on Sunday questioned the supposed plan of the government to purchase vehicles from China to replace the country’s traditional jeepneys, claiming the move “reeks of corruption.”

“China is already invading the West Philippine Sea. Will we allow them to take over even our roads?” Tulfo said in a statement.

The radio broadcaster-turned-lawmaker said he received information that the government was planning to import modernized jeepneys from China for as much as P2.9 million per unit as part of the multibillion-peso modernization program for public utility vehicles.

Tulfo pointed out that this was nearly triple the price of locally manufactured jeepneys that comply with the strict safety requirements mandated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

He said Sarao Motors and Francisco Motors, two of the major jeepney manufacturers in the country, had earlier offered their vehicles for as low as P900,000.

Local industry

“[T]his project reeks of corruption considering that [the] local jeepney manufacturing industry can produce a quality modern jeepney at a lower cost,” he said.

According to Tulfo, the government would be able to save P1.7 million for every vehicle it buys from a local manufacturer instead of importing from China.

“Moreover,” he said, “if the cost of the jeepney to be purchased [locally] is around P900,000, the government will be able to [provide] subsidies to implement the modernization at no cost to the jeepney drivers and operators.”

In addition, he said, supporting local vehicle makers would help provide jobs to thousands of Filipinos.

Last week, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III urged the DOTr to identify the contractors who could rake in billions of pesos in profits for supplying the modernized jeepneys, which he said actually looked like minibuses.

Drivers and operators of jeepneys and passenger vans were given until Dec. 31 to consolidate into cooperatives or corporations for them to be allowed to continue to ply their routes. Those who did not comply face the revocation of their franchises.

Meanwhile, Liga ng Transportasyon at Operator ng Pilipinas national president Orlando Marquez said at a news forum in Quezon City on Saturday that the public utility vehicle modernization will solve the traffic problem in the metropolis similar to how Singapore addressed the same problem by introducing transport modernization.

“We support this modernization because we want [in Metro Manila what happened] in developed countries like Singapore, which used to have a traffic problem. They modernized, they introduced mass transport, so they resolved the problem which had been costing [their economy],” he said.