THE vice chair of the House Committee on Transportation yesterday blamed the Duterte administration for what she called the “problematic” public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP), adding the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is to blame for being unprepared in implementing the program.
“It seems that the shortcoming is in the information campaign for jeepney drivers and operators. The mistake is with the LTFRB, in the previous administration,” Bulacan Rep. Agustina Pancho told TeleRadyo.
Upon the instruction of Speaker Martin Romualdez, the House transportation panel held a motu proprio investigation last Wednesday to look into the alleged anomalies and corruption in the implementation of the modernization program, which was initiated under the Duterte administration.
The Speaker last week said his office has received reports “that corrupt practices may have tainted the conceptualization and planned implementation” of the modernization program.
Romualdez earlier cited reports that existing transport officials are allegedly in cahoots with previous officials in the negotiations for the importation of modern jeepney units to replace old ones.
“Based on our meeting in Congress, it appears that the LTFRB is unprepared to implement the PUVMP. It seems that they don’t know how to implement the program and that they don’t seem to have had consultations with jeepney drivers and operators,” Pancho said.
The administration lawmaker urged President Marcos Jr. to defer the implementation pending a further study, saying many families will suffer if the government continues its implementation now.
The House transportation panel is preparing a resolution recommending the extension of the January 31 deadline given to unconsolidated PUVs.
“We hope PBBM would listen to us if we could study this modernization program thoroughly because many will get hurt. It’s one huge sector, drivers, operators and their families,” Pancho said.
During the House hearing, it was revealed that PUV drivers need to earn at least P6,000 to as much as P7,000 daily to pay for the amortization of modernized jeepney units since each imported unit costs P1.6 million to P2.8 million.
“We have to ascertain the capacity of drivers and operators to pay. There are a lot of problems just on the consolidation side. There’s mistrust in the creation of cooperatives,” Pancho said.
The program requires individual operators to “consolidate” or join cooperatives and corporations for easier processing of bank loans to avail of the modernized jeepneys.
The required franchise consolidation, a component in the modernization program, lapsed last December 31, 2023 but unconsolidated commuter jeepneys are still allowed to operate on selected routes until January 31, 2024.
During the hearing, driver-operator Philip Burata said he and fellow drivers lost ownership and rights over their 44 jeepneys after joining a company that filed 38 counts of car theft cases against four of them despite an agreement that they would still be the ones to manage their fleet.
