NOT even the resounding resolution from Congress proved enough to sway the President to at least suspend the implementation of the jeepney phaseout in the guise of modernization.
According to Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair Teofilo Guadiz who formed part of the rallyists behind the so-called ‘unity walk’ to Mendiola in Manila, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has already given his assurance that the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization (PUVMP) won’t be suspended as requested by 22 of the 23 senators.
“PUVMP will continue. The President supports the program and this will continue until the final stages of the modernization program,” Guadiz said.
“Through the DOTr (Department of Transportation), the entire country can count on the President to support the program. No suspension will happen. No resolution can stop the government’s program,” Guadiz added.
The unity walk, organized by members of the Angat Kooperatiba at Korporasyon ng Alyansang Pilipino para sa Modernisasyon (Akkap Mo) is a protest march expressing opposition to the Senate Resolution 1096 asking the President to temporarily suspend the modernization program over several issues.
“This is the 83 percent of the PUV sector that complied with and embraced the PUVMP. They are the ones that paved the way for our transport system to be modernized,” the LTFRB chief claimed.
Interestingly, Guadiz seemed referring to just 500 participants which is way below the 10,000 people that the so-called Magnificent 7 (transport groups) have committed.
Oddly though, the Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (Manibela) which has since been opposed to the PUVMP provided free rides to commuters in different parts of Metro Manila.
According to Manibela president Mar Valbuena said they would wait for a resolution from the House of Representatives also calling for the suspension of the PUVMP “to be a louder call to urge the President to suspend the program.”
As this developed, Valbuena hinted at their own version of the “unity walk” in the coming weeks.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista previously claimed that the consolidation rate under the program already reached 83.38 percent, with the Office of Transport Cooperatives accrediting 1,781 cooperatives with 262,870 members.
The Local Public Transportation Route Plan (LPTRP) or route rationalization component of the PUVMP, Bautista added, is in its final stages. LPTRP will determine the number of PUV units to serve a particular route
Based on the DOTr data, there are 6,090 consolidated routes and out of 1,574 local governments nationwide, 71 percent have submitted their draft LPTRPs pending review and approval by the DOTr and LTFRB. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
