Transport group asks SC to stop April 30 PUV consolidation deadline

(File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines—The transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) and allied organizations on Monday prodded the Supreme Court (SC) to temporarily stop the government from implementing its April 30 deadline to modernize and consolidate public utility vehicles (PUVs) in the country.

The supplemental petition with an urgent reiterative motion for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and or writ of preliminary injunction was filed a day before the April 30 deadline.

Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares, co-counsel for petitioners said “should franchises be canceled by April 30, grave and irreparable injury would result even if the drivers and commuters will win this case in the end.”

“It will be a pyrrhic victory as it is difficult to reinstate canceled franchises.”

“Hindi na mabawi ang gutom na daranasin ng pamilya ng mga drivers at operators dahil sa kawalan ng hanapbuhay [The hunger experienced by the families of drivers and operators cannot be reversed anymore due to lack of livelihood.] ,” he added.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. earlier said there would be no more extension of April 30 deadline for PUV operators and drivers to consolidate into cooperatives or corporations as part of the modernization program.

The petitioners noted that in its original petition with prayer for a TRO, they called for the nullification of seven issuances including  DO No. 2017-011.

However, on December 29, 2023, or nine days after they filed the petition, DOTr promulgated DO No. 2023-022, providing the guidelines on the implementations of PUVMP, superseding DO No. 2017-011.

It noted that DO No. 2023-022 inserted additional requirements on consolidation and management operations previously not included in the assailed DO No. 2017-011.

Essentially, the petitioners pointed out that the new  DO No. 2023-022  includes the assailed forced consolidation in its technical requirements and directs the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)  to “adopt a policy on the consolidation of certificates of public convenience (CPCs) and substitution of units,” which is not found in DO 2017-011.

DO 2023-022, the petitioners said, include the forced consolidation which is not found in DO 2017-011.

“The belated and underhanded incorporation of mandatory consolidation in the PUVMP appears to indicate a lack of clarity and cohesion in the policy and its implementation,” PISTON and the other petitioners said.

They pointed to the move of the LTFRB to extend the consolidation deadline several times through the past seven years as a telling reminder that the government is not actually ready to address the many “missing elements” of the PUVMP, such as “route rationalization plan and local public transport route plan.”