PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. continues to support the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) which will proceed as planned, according to Teofilo Guadiz, chief of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
“Walang suspenyong mangyayari. Tuloy tuloy ang programa. (There will be no suspension.
The program will proceed),” Guadiz told reporters yesterday amid the Unity Walk staged by drivers and operators who have complied with the consolidation, the initial phase of the PUVMP.
Last week, the Senate, in a resolution, recommended the suspension of the program.
Guadiz also assured the riding public of the support of the Department of Transportation and the President.
The DOTr, through the Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC), an attached agency on behalf of the transport cooperatives, called on the Senate to support the continuous implementation of the PTMP, along with its technical and legal support and guidance.
Based on the data recorded by the DOTr until April 30, 2024, the last day of consolidation, 83.38 percent or 159,862 of the total 191,730 baseline units have been successfully consolidated nationwide.
“Samakatuwid, nasa mayorya na ang yumakap, naniniwala, at sumusuporta sa PTMP at higit sa kalahating porsyento na rin ang maaaring maapektuhan sakaling ipatupad ang panukalang suspensyon ng programa. Hindi maikakaila na higit na mas malaki ang posibleng maging negatibong epekto ng suspensyon kaysa sa inaakala na tulong nito sa buong sektor. Ang naturang suspensyon ay hudyat lamang ng tuluyang pagpreno ng kabuhayan ng mas nakararaming manggagawa sa sektor ng pampublikong transportasyon.” (Therefore, the majority embrace, believe, and support the PTMP and more than half a percent may be affected if the proposed suspension of the Program is implemented. There is no denying that the possible negative impact of the suspension is far greater than its supposed help to the entire sector. Such suspension is only a sign of the permanent braking of the livelihood of the majority of workers in the public transportation sector),” the OTC said in a statement.
