Senate President Francis Escudero (center) says he will ask DOTr, LTFRB and the CDA after meeting the leaders of the anti-PUVMP transport groups Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) and Manibela. —Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau
MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Chiz Escudero signified his intent to meet with officials of the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, as well as Cooperative Development Authority in order to tackle the controversial Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
Escudero disclosed his intent in a press briefing on Monday after he met with transport groups Manibela and Piston. Earlier, the Senate chief likewise met with members of the so-called Magnificent 7 which is composed of the biggest transport groups in the country.
READ: Escudero meets transport groups to tackle PUV modernization program
“I will meet and summon the DOTr, the LTFRB and CDA because they are also involved in this and our discussion will hopefully bear fruit. They let me serve as a bridge, a way for their grievances to be communicated but also to find a solution because the many times they complained and conveyed it to the government it seemed they were just being passed from one agency to another,” the senator said.
”And any protest action related to any type of transport strike is also painful for them. It also hurts the commuters, not only the economy and the government. So it’s really not in anyone’s interest for that to happen again. I hope that by the Senate serving as a road and a bridge to their grievances, we will find a solution to this without the need for any kind of protest action that only hurts each of them and stakeholders in the transport sector.” he added.
In the same presser, Escudero emphasized that it is not under LTFFB’s power to revoke PUV franchises. He said the franchise was only delegated by Congress to the LTFRB, but he underscored that the agency “do not own this power.”
“I believe that the LTFRB should not be doing this because it is clear extortion on a project that they have not really fully organized and implemented,” Escudero said.
While Escudero did not categorically disclose when he is planning to meet the government officials, he made clear that he would do it after getting sufficient “data” from the transport groups affected by the PTMP.
“(It appears that most or not all of the cooperatives that consolidated in the name of PUV modernization are losing money and complaining. If it really doesn’t work with the previous ones, why do we insist on doing it with the others? Until we can show and prove that it will work, let’s not force it,” said Escudero.
“That is the position of the Senate. For those who like it, they can continue. We won’t stop that. But those who don’t want, I repeat, the government must lead, help and convince. Don’t force it,” he added.