LTFRB clarifies: No old jeepney phaseout yet in 2016

LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has clarified that the phaseout of jeepneys older than 15 years will not yet be implemented in 2016, as feared.

The LTFRB made the announcement on Monday afternoon after the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) led a “transport holiday” in south Metro Manila in the morning to protest the reported phaseout of passenger jeepneys over 15 years old.

“In the first place, we explained that there isn’t a phaseout policy yet. There’s a draft memorandum circular, but it is only a working draft for consultation purposes. It has not been signed yet, it is not effective yet, and there is no plan to implement it in 2016,” LTFRB chair Winston Ginez said in a phone interview, after holding a dialogue with ACTO on Mondayafternoon.

“We will still hold consultations on when and how [the phaseout] will be implemented. This is really premature; all the noise a while ago was much ado about nothing,” Ginez said, as he assured the public that ACTO, as well as other transport groups, would be invited to consultations on the future phaseout.

The phasing out of public utility vehicles older than 15 years is in line with modernization plans of the transport-related government agencies.

In an earlier statement, ACTO president Efren de Luna explained they were holding the “transport holiday” to prompt the LTFRB to hold a dialogue with them to clarify the phaseout policy. De Luna said the LTFRB had been “snubbing” them, despite previous protest actions.

One concern, in particular, was whether the phaseout would be done in one go, or gradually.

“We are not against modernization, but our government has no plan or study how it will be implemented,” De Luna said in Filipino, in an interview on Monday. De Luna estimated the phaseout would take out 90 percent of PUJs in the Philippines, since most of the 60,000 public utility jeepneys in the Philippines, were “surplus” units dating back to year 2000 or earlier.

De Luna said they wanted the LTFRB’s assurance that there would be no phaseout in 2016, to be put in writing, black-and-white.  He pointed out that they had been blindsided before by the phaseout of old school buses and UV Express vans.

Meanwhile, Ginez said they were investigating the “transport holiday” on Monday morning to see if there were drivers and operators who went on an actual strike—a transport violation that could merit suspension or cancellation of franchise.

“We are still studying if there will be identified drivers who really halted operations. Based on what we’ve seen from reports, it seems they just took part in a mass action,” Ginez said.  SFM