Hundreds of jeepney drivers marched in Baguio on Saturday (Jan. 21), to protest a scheduled 2018 phase-out of public utility jeepneys that are 15 years old or older. VINCENT CABREZA
BAGUIO CITY – Hundreds of Baguio jeepney operators and drivers marched along downtown Session Road on Saturday (Jan. 21) to protest the government’s order to phase out jeepneys that are 15 years old or older by 2018.
Rows of drivers, representing at least 50 jeepney organizations in the city, stopped traffic for 15 minutes at 9:30 a.m., carrying banners announcing the demands of their coalition called “Baguio-Benguet Jeepney Associations Against Jeepney Phase-out.”
They were trailed by several jeepneys carrying the banner, “Don’t phase me out.”
The government phase-out plan is part of a transport modernization program. The Department of Transportation had urged jeepney operators to voluntarily replace old units before it enforces the mandatory phase-out plan next year.
The city’s comprehensive land use plan says there are 21,197 public utility vehicles serving Baguio. Transport officials said half of this consists of public utility jeepneys, but it was not clear how many are eligible for phase-out. CDG
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