Jeepney drivers who complete NC3 will be hired first in HPBS

JEEPNEY drivers who finished the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will be prioritized by the social packages of the government as part of the implementation of the High Bus Priority System (HBPS).

“We requested Mayor Sara Duterte to write to TESDA national requesting them to make a program for bus driving training,” HPBS social development OIC Norman Baloro said.

The National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3) is one of the services offered to drivers and operators who will be affected in the phase-out of PUJs. Drivers who will finish the 20-day training will be prioritized during the hiring of bus drivers.

“NC3 bus driving is giving the opportunity for our PUJ drivers to enroll in the NC3 so that they will be our priority in terms of application and hiring of our bus drivers,” he said.

“Somehow, these drivers will not be totally displaced,” he said, adding that the city government shall be providing 10,000 jobs once the implementation of the HPBS will commence.

“As what Atty. Dwight had said, the training is a requirement to professionalize the workforce of these bus drivers,” he said, as he reiterated what Atty. Dwight Domingo, City Assistant Administrator, had said during one of their consultation dialogues.

Aside from TESDA and other mentioned social pension packages in the previous reports, the Department of Health (DOH) also allocated P50 million as help for the affected drivers and operators.

“If there will be some relatives of these drivers and operators who will be admitted at SPMC (Southern Philippines Medical Center), the budget that DOH allocated can be an add-on, the same way that Lingap, PCSO and Marino Partylist function when someone is seeking help for hospitalization,” he said.

The city government also allocated P250 million as its counterpart fund in helping affected drivers and operators.

“This P250 million is for financial assistance. We make them our priority and make sure that they are giving financial assistance,” he said.

Baloro also clarified that the P250 million is not allocated for the purchasing of the HPBS. Meanwhile, 100 buses will be deployed in Toril, 50 buses in Catalunan Grande, and 10 buses in C.P. Garcia Highway during the initial phase of the implementation.

The HPBS is one of the modernization projects of the city government, which aims to decongest the heavy traffic experienced in the city.