Poe threatens to cut DOTr budget over PUV program
Sen. Grace Poe on Monday threatened to slash the budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for 2019 should it fail to defend the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.
Poe told members of the No to Jeepney Phaseout Coalition (NTJPOC) in Manila that this was the “only recourse” left to hold the DOTr accountable for the more than 900,000 jeepney drivers and operators who could end up jobless because of the program’s problematic implementation.
The senator who chairs the committee on public services called on officials of the DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to explain the “slow and dismal disbursements” of funding for the project.
Citing a Commission on Audit report, Poe said DOTr had transferred only 15.54 percent, or P88.5 million, of the P569-million budget.
Inadequate subsidy
She expressed doubt that the P80,000 subsidy being offered by the government would be enough for operators to buy a modern jeepney, which was priced from P1.2 million to P1.6 million.
Article continues after this advertisement“If they could not answer these, they’ll have a problem [about] their budget, at least the portion for the [modernization program],” Poe told reporters.
Article continues after this advertisement“Of course we do not want to compromise the budget, but the DOTr should assure us that they will be spending the budget allotted to them properly and that this will go to the drivers and operators,” she said.
Should the DOTr officials fail to heed to the resolution, she would propose the enactment of a law offering clearer guidelines on the PUV modernization program.
“We are not the executive who implements policies, neither are we the judiciary who can convict them for their crimes. But we have the power of the purse and to create laws,” Poe said.
‘Just, humane program’
But she clarified that she and the transport groups were not against the program, saying they just “wanted a just and humane modernization program. We should not accept that we have beautiful jeepneys, but behind the facade are hungry families of the drivers.”
George San Mateo, convenor of NTJPOC and president of transport group Piston, said they appreciated Poe’s action even if it was limited to summoning transport officials.
