THE government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP) is unfunded under the proposed budget of the Department of Transportation for 2023.
Transportation Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor made the revelation after Rep. Raoul Manuel (PL, Kabataan) asked if it is true that P4.2 billion was earmarked for the program.
Pastor told lawmakers that the program has zero allocation under the DOTr’s proposed P167 billion for next year.
The PUVMP provides P160,000 equity subsidy to jeepney drivers who want to shift to a modern PUV unit. This is on top of the value of the old PUV that drivers or operators get.
Pastor said the DOTR had proposed P778 million for the program, but it was excluded from the final version of the National Expenditure Program (NEP) as approved by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
Surprised, Manuel again asked if he heard it right that there is no budget for PUV modernization even if the government is planning to increase the 5,300 modern PUVs plying the roads right now by 50 percent next year, which Pastor confirmed.
Manuel said the PUV modernization program has no allocation for next year even if the DOTR has the biggest budget increase of 147.7 percent, from P58.7 billion this year to P145.4 billion in 2023.
Manuel urged his colleagues to look for ways to fund the item, saying many drivers who are still using old units had to stop operating because of the economic difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Paano pa kaya kung meron tayong mode na mag-shift sila sa modern jeepneys? (How much more if we require them to shift to modern PUVs?),” said the militant lawmaker.
A modern PUV unit costs at least P1.2 million.
Launched by the DOTR in 2017, the PUVMP aims to restructure, modernize, and make public mass transportation environmentally sustainable while providing PUV drivers and operators stable and sufficient income.
The Office of Transportation Cooperatives was chosen as one of the implementing partners of the program primarily tasked with advancing the industry consolidation component and in providing a supporting role for the rest of the components of the program.
In its 2021 report, the Commission on Audit said the OTC has failed to come up with a measurable target or quantifiable indicators with specific timeframes for its participation in the program after five years and P66.29 million in expenditures.
MINDANAO LOSES BIG
Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman urged colleagues to work with him in trying to restore at least part of the huge cuts in the infrastructure budget of the whole of Mindanao under the proposed 2023 national budget.
Mindanao suffered a huge decrease in infrastructure outlay, from P47.2 billion in 2021 and P84.69 billion in 2022 to a measly P30.49 billion in 2023 or a reduction of about P16.7 billion from its 2021 allocation and a P54.2 billion or almost 64 percent decrease compared to this year’s allocation.
“Kung hindi kayang ibalik yung dati, baka maaaring huwag naman kaltasan ng napakalaki ang pondo ng Mindanao. Alam naman nating napag-iwanan ang Mindanao sa pag-unlad dahil sa dekadang digmaan at kaguluhan na pinagdaanan nito (If we can’t restore the old amount, please do not reduce the budget of Mindanao by such a huge amount. We know that Mindanao is left behind when it comes to development because of decades of war and security problems it had to endure,” Hataman said.
Hataman said he and fellow Mindanaoan lawmakers have already asked the House committee on Mindanao affairs to invite DBM and the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) officials to explain the reasons for the huge budget cut.
