Modernization, not phaseout of jeepneys, Tugade assures
Amid fears of transport groups, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade assured that the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program does not seek to phase out the jeepney sector but wants a safer, convenient, more efficient, and environmentfriendly mode of transportation for the public.
“This administration favors the jeepney livelihood, but we see that this livelihood should not kill the people and the environment. It should respond to what the public needs – that is our objective,” he told newsmen following the launch of the modernization program in Camp Aguinaldo Monday.
The three-year transition period for the modernization program has set in as Tugade, along with other government officials, signed Monday the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) which also lifted the 13-year moratorium on the release of new franchises for PUVs.
Tugade said they are open for dialogue and will accept proposals from concerned groups should they want changes in the program.
“Let us not shoot down a program that has just started. Please give the government the chance, understanding, and trust to be able to do this,” he appealed.
Of the about 400,000 registered PUVs in the country, about 50 percent or an estimated 180,000 are jeepney units, said Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Martin Delgra III. Majority of these units are believed to be 15 years and older, he said.
While they won’t hastily phase out old, dilapidated jeepneys off the road, Delgra said they are aiming to modernize all of these units to electric, Euro 4-engined, or hybrid ones within the three-year transition period of the modernization program.
Modern jeepney DOTr Assistant Secretary Marc de Leon also turned down appeals to allow instead the rehabilitation of jeepneys for those who cannot afford to purchase modern units.
“Unfortunately that mode that they were suggesting is not a holistic rehabilitation. They might replace its parts but the jeepney itself – the comfort, the convenience, the drivability of its driver – its chassis, and body are the same. That’s not how we want to move forward. We want a modern jeepney that has convenient and safety features, as well as improved maneuverability that both drivers and pas- sengers deserve. We will not allow rebuilt jeepneys,” he said.
De Leon assured that jeepney operators, drivers, and manufacturers will not be displaced by the modernization program as support programs are being set in place for them.
Transport officials have repeatedly mentioned of a loan program that will help operators to purchase electric, Euro-4, or hybrid jeepneys at five-percent interest rate payable in seven years.
De Leon said they will prioritize local jeepney manufacturers in the modernization program that will also raise the demand for PUV drivers, as it will invite more commuters to use public transport.
Assurance of continuity
At the Senate, Senator Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara filed Senate Resolution No. 408 asking the Senate to look into the DOTr’s PUV modernization program to ensure that the program would equally uphold the rights and welfare of the commuting public, the PUV operators and drivers as well.
“We must allay the fears of the vulnerable members of our public transport sector by ensuring that adequate social protection measures are in place. I believe they must be given sufficient financial assistance so they can cope with the modernization,” Angara said.
“Because our drivers and small operators are really fearing they would lose their main source of livelihood once the program is implemented and old PUVs are banned,” he said.
The Department of Finance (DOF) stated that part of the incremental revenues that would be collected from the proposed increase in excise taxes on oil would go to the PUV modernization program to subsidize the conversion of jeepneys to more efficient engines and bodies.
But Angara said there is an urgent need to thoroughly assess the impact of the program on the sustainability of jeepney operations that serve the vast majority of Filipino public commuters.
“Jeepneys remain the most affordable and accessible mode of transport in our country –providing livelihood to thousands of micro-operators and drivers,” he said.
“There is also yet no significant reliable, affordable and convenient mass transport public infrastructure in place to serve as a viable option to the millions of Filipino commuters as an alternative to the jeepneys, thereby necessitating the thorough review and reassessment of the jeepney modernization program,” Angara noted. (With a report from Hannah L. Torregoza)