CONTINUING PROTEST A streamer at a terminal for jeepneys plying the Paco-Rotunda Nagtahan route in Manila expresses the unyielding position of the local transport association about the government’s modernization program for public utility vehicles. (Photo from RICHARD A. REYES)
MANILA, Philippines — Some unconsolidated public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators in Metro Manila will go on ferrying commuters in February, transport group Piston said on Monday.
Piston expressed its intention despite the announcement from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The announcement said unconsolidated PUVs will be tagged as “colorum” starting February 1 or after the January 31 extension for the filing of franchise consolidation applications.
Franchise consolidation means individual operators must surrender their franchises into a single corporation or cooperative that will operate in a single route.
Drivers of “colorum” PUVs, or vehicles that failed to consolidate, will be apprehended if they will continue to ply their routes, LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III earlier warned.
Piston President Mody Floranda told INQUIRER.net that some operators remain defiant of LTFRB’s pronouncement as they question the board’s legal basis for the order.
“Base sa desisyon ng mga operator ay bibiyahe pa rin sila dahil kwestiyonable ang legality ng pag-alis ng prangkisa,” Floranda said.
(Based on operators’ decision, they will still ferry commuters because the legality of removing their franchises is questionable.)
Floranda said the issuance of franchises to PUV operators is enshrined in Republic Act 4136 or Land Transportation and Traffic Code.
Therefore, removing such franchises will require an amendment of the law – a procedure that the LTFRB is yet to undergo, he explained.
“If we were to look at it, LTFRB has no authority to revoke the franchise of our public transport because the [franchise] is based on the law,” he said in Filipino.
On January 11, Guadiz remained firm in his stance that unconsolidated operators would be given a show cause order within January.
“After January 31, you will no longer have a franchise. Your vehicle will be apprehended, and its classification will be considered colorum,” the LTFRB chief had said in a press conference.
Meanwhile, in a radio interview over at DZBB, Transportation Chief Jaime Bautista maintained there will be no extensions for franchise consolidation after January 31.
Piston and another transport group, Manibela, will be staging a transport protest on January 16 (Tuesday).
They are calling on the government anew to halt the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Floranda underscored that they are not against modernization but oppose the government’s way of enforcing the program.