SEN. Grace Poe, who chairs the Committee on Public Services, said she wants to know if the concerns raised by drivers and operators have been resolved ahead of the April 30 deadline for public utility vehicle consolidation.
“But we want to know how productive the three-month extension has been. Have there been fruitful dialogues between the LTFRB and transport groups? Were there substantial efforts to reach out to the drivers and operators to help them get into the program? Were the apprehensions about the loans and other financial aspects of the program eased?” Poe said in a statement.
“We hope that the LTFRB will release ahead of the deadline the list of routes with and without consolidated jeepneys. We can’t leave our commuters scampering for rides, especially under this extreme heat,” she added.
While the deadline is just around the corner, Poe said they are “looking forward” to the “final verdict” of the Supreme Court on the appeal of transport groups being released to help enlighten concerned agencies on the path to take on the modernization of PUVs.
Sen. Imee Marcos, in a Zoom interview with the Senate media, said she is thankful to her brother, President Marcos Jr., that a transport summit was held but she expressed the hope that the stakeholders were consulted on the matter.
She said PUV modernization has always been stalled due to the concerns not addressed by the government, including the sources of funds for drivers and operators to purchase the modern jeepneys which cost around P2.5 million each since the government will only subsidize up to P180,000.
Another concern that needs to be addressed is where will the traditional jeepneys go once they are phased out since the government will not accept them as “trade-ins” for the modern ones.
She said the mechanics of how drivers and operators can join cooperatives are still not clear.
“To their understanding, once they join a cooperative, their businesses or their ownership of the jeepneys will be diminished and they will just become an employee of the cooperative. Further, the cooperative will have no accountability on them if they have not yet fully paid their debts,” she said.
