4 transport groups go to SC to support PUV modernization
MANILA — Pasang Masda and three other transport groups on Monday filed a motion before the Supreme Court opposing the petition to stop the implementation of the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).
Pasang Masda president Robert Martin said they opposed the TRO filed by t he Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) and other transport and commuter rights groups because they “want to keep the old and traditional jeepneys.”
“On our part, we want to change this because we have been left behind in Asia in the transportation sector,” he said.
Among Pasang Masda’s co- petitioners are the Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas ( LTOP), the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines or Altodap, and the Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators or Acto.
L TOP president Orlando Marquez said they were hoping the high court would heed their request to intervene in the proceedings, as they claim they have the support of 80 percent of thousands of jeepney drivers and operators nationwide.
The PUVMP is a project launched in 2017, during t he administration of then- President Rodrigo Duterte, t hat aims to replace old jeepneys with modern units, as well as to organize drivers and operators into cooperatives or corporations.
However, the program has faced strong opposition from some transport groups, who claim that it is “unfair, unfeasible, and coercive.” They argue that the new units are too expensive, that the government has not provided enough financial assistance, and that the program will result in the loss of livelihood for thousands of jeepney drivers.