MONTHS of the drivers’ and operators’ opposition to the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program have come to this: The final and immovable deadline for these transport workers to consolidate their franchises and livelihood into cooperatives or face the risk of being declared “colorum” and arrested in the streets. The last day was April 30, and the following day, Labor Day, ironically the global celebration honoring the working class, became a day of infamy for Filipino transport workers.
Showing their belief in the Philippine legal system, the transport group PISTON, Manibela and other allied organizations made a last-ditch call to the Supreme Court to act on their petition seeking the issuance of a temporary restraining order against the government’s program to modernize and consolidate public utility vehicles in the country.
The groups filed a supplemental petition for a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction on the eve of the April 30 deadline for the franchise consolidation of jeepneys and UV Express units.
‘The Supreme Court should treat this particular case as a priority if only because it involves the daily lives of transport workers and the millions of commuters who have to move every day from one place to another.’
After several postponements, President Marcos Jr. had said there would be no extension of the April 30 deadline.
Something is intrinsically wrong in the way the government explains what will happen to the drivers and operators of traditional jeepneys after the April 30 deadline. While Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Romando Artes earlier said a recently-created joint task force composed of the agency, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Transportation will conduct “anti-colorum” operations against jeepney operators and drivers who fail to consolidate after the deadline, officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) are saying the opposite.
Over 100,000 traditional jeepneys nationwide are expected to continue plying the road in the next two to three years after the April 30 deadline for consolidation, according to the DOTr. Transportation Undersecretary Jesus Ferdinand Ortega, in a TV interview, said PUV operators who failed to consolidate will be given two weeks up to a month to explain their move.
“On the part of DOTr and LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) after the deadline, we will still give them due process, it will take two weeks or one month,” Ortega said, adding the government may revoke their franchises. He said those who opted to consolidate will be given two to three years to transition into operating modern jeepneys.
“It will not happen soon. It will take three years to happen. It will start next year or two years from now,” Ortega said, adding some of the traditional jeepneys are still road-worthy.
He affirmed that around 100,000 traditional jeepneys all over the country will still be seen plying their routes in the next few years.
So, which is which? Top government officials are issuing pronouncements that are directly opposed to each other, creating more problems in this already messy affair.
PISTON is adamantly insisting that the government rescind the order. It asked the High Court to declare null and void several issuances of the DOTr on the consolidation and to issue an injunction to prevent the agency and the LTFRB from enforcing the issuances.
The transport groups sought the temporary injunction citing, among others, the adverse impact on the income and livelihood of PUV operators, drivers and their families and commuters nationwide.
They also argued the government’s move is “oppressive” as it will undermine the livelihood of PUV operators and drivers as well as the prohibitive cost of the modern jeepney that will replace the traditional one, from P1.4 million to P2.5 million. They rejected the government subsidy of P160,000 or 5.7 percent of the total cost of the modern e-jeepney as meager.
The Supreme Court should treat this particular case as a priority if only because it involves the daily lives of transport workers and the millions of commuters who have to move every day from one place to another.
