Jeepney rehab to displace drivers — Anakpawis solon

ANGELES CITY — Anakpawis Party-list Representative Ariel “Ka Ayik” Casilao has raised alarm that the on-going “Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok” campaign of the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (I-ACT) led by the Department of Transportation (DoTr) has been “displacing small jeepney operators and drivers of their daily income.”

The solon said the drive is also affecting commuters especially during rush hours as operators and drivers are forced to “ground” their jeepneys pending repairs, and fears of being waylaid by authorities.

“Above the latest oil price hikes triggered by TRAIN, crackdown on jeepneys is tantamount to displacing small operators and poor drivers, taking away their sources of daily income, their families badly need,” Casilao said in a statement sent to Sun.Star Pampanga yesterday.

Casilao also stressed that the crackdown is essentially phasing out of jeepneys.

The partylist representative slammed the program and described it as “callous and inconsiderate of the poor situation of drivers.”

The lawmaker proposed that small operators and drivers should be allowed first to cope up with the impact of incessant oil price hikes, with the latest implementation of Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN), before abruptly requiring them to rehabilitate their veh i cl es.

He also joined with the demand of Piston group for a P6 subsidy discount on diesel prices.

Casilao asked the Duterte administration to establish a support industry for mass transport to rehabilitate jeepney vehicles at lower costs instead of forcing the drivers to purchase modern vehicles manufactured by foreign firms.