Sen. Marcos calls for probe into PUV modernization, Panay blackout

(Philippine Daily Inquirer/ Richard A. Reyes)

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Imee Marcos has filed resolutions asking the Senate to investigate two recent pressing issues — the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program and the Panay Island-wide blackout last January 2.

In Senate Resolution (SR) No. 893, Marcos noted that the PUV Modernization Program has been on the receiving end of criticisms from transport groups and jeepney drivers, considering that the consolidation is supposedly hard to comply with.

Jeepney drivers who have not complied with the consolidation requirement under the modernization program have been given a month-long reprieve, or until the end of January 2024 to comply.

“For traditional jeepney drivers and operators, the deadline is too close for comfort to comply with the consolidation requirements such as the necessary documents, membership fees in cooperatives, funds to secure stocks in corporations, and other prerequisites,” Marcos said.

“Moreover, membership fees in cooperatives or stocks in corporations are a heavy burden to some drivers and operators of PUVs,” she added.

However, Marcos also noted that an alarming number of jeepney operators and drivers have not yet availed of the consolidation program — which necessitates an investigation to understand why the majority of the transport sector shun this requirement.

“The alarming number of PUVs that fail to consolidate is one of the factors that require attention as it will also have an adverse impact on commuters and the country’s public transportation,” she explained.

“Given the above-mentioned concerns and issues, the government and the PUV stakeholders should continue dialogues to find a win-win solution. The country can ill-afford a transport crisis, especially that the economy is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic,” she added.

Panay blackout

Sen. Marcos also filed SR No. 892, asking for a probe of the blackouts that affected households and industries in Panay Island and nearby areas since January 2.

She said the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) might have violated Republic Act No. 9511, the law which created its franchise, when it failed to address the power outage.

“The following circumstances show that NGCP likewise violated Section 3 of R.A. 9511 by failing to improve adequately improve the grid system and related facilities and to operate and maintain the same in accordance with industry standards: (1) Failure of the grid to comply with the Single Outage Contingency Criterion; (2) Inadequate procurement of ancillary services to prevent outages; and (3) Significant delays in the completion of grid projects,” she said.

“The NGCP has likewise failed to proactively call on the distribution utilities and electric cooperatives in Panay to do manual load reduction in order to prevent a sub-system-wide collapse,” she added.