Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday, December 12 renewed her call for the government to review the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP) noting that it lacks safety nets for drivers and operators who will bear the brunt of the December 31 consolidation deadline. 

Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, made the appeal after President Marcos announced there would be no extension of the December 31 deadline for the consolidation of PUV operators. 

For 2024, the senator noted that the program will get a P1.6-billion budget, but it does not include measures to protect the livelihood of some 300,000 drivers.

"Nakaka-alarma na makitang hindi naaprubahan ang mga sinusulong natin proteksyon para sa mga drivers sa pondo ng PUV Modernization Program (It’s alarming to see that the protection we advocated for drivers were not approved in the PUV Modernization Program fund),” Poe said in a statement.

“Pinangakuan tayo na aaralin muli ang programa bago ang ano pa mang deadline ngayong Disyembre. Ngunit tulad pa rin ng nakalipas na anim na taon, puro pangakong napapako lang ang natatanggap natin dito sa Senado (They promised to study the program again before any deadline this December. But still, like in the past six (6) years, all we receive here in the Senate are just promises that have been nailed down),” she said.

Moreover, she noted that funds have been set aside for the Department of Transportation (DOTr) since 2018 to formulate a route plan for the PUVs.

This route rationalization study is a crucial component of the program since it will determine the number of jeepneys, UV express and buses needed to ply a particular route, which will ensure the viability of their operations, Poe explained.

However, to date, only 9.5 percent or 155 of the 1,575 local government units (LGUs) have approved route plans.

She also wondered why there so many deadlines and requirements imposed on the driver while the DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board LTFRB have yet to fulfill their task.

"Ngayon, nangangako na naman sila na may aprubadong ruta para sa kalahati ng bansa sa June 2024. Pero dahil wala ang probisyong ito sa budget, malamang ay aasa na naman tayo sa wala (Now, they promise again that there will be an approved route for half of the country by June 2024. But since this provision is not in the budget, we will probably have to rely on nothing again),” she pointed out.

Poe warned that pursuing the December 31 consolidation deadline would affect thousands of drivers who have yet to organize themselves into cooperatives.

"Hindi mo naman masisi ang mga tsuper na takot sumali sa kooperatiba dahil ang laki ng pondong kailangan tapos wala pang training ang DOTR sa pag-manage ng pera at PUV units (You can't blame the drivers who are afraid to join the cooperative because of the huge amount of funds needed and the DOTR has not offered any training in managing money and PUV units),” she pointed out.

Poe noted that of the P2.5-million cost per unit of a modern jeepney, the government will only subsidize 8.4 percent or P210,000. In order to subsidize around 300,000 PUV units, the government would need at least P63-billion. 

That P63-billion is not included in the P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024, which Congress has already ratified on Monday, Dec. 11, 2023.

Poe said PUV drivers could not be blamed for organizing another transport strike to air their legitimate concerns against the PUVMP.

"Nasaan ang gobyerno sa modernisasyon? Ang lakas ng loob ng DOTR mag-deadline, wala naman maitulong, (Where is the government in this modernization? The DOTr has the guts to impose a deadline, yet they could not even help),” she lamented.

"Risonable naman ang panawagan natin para sa masusing pag-aaral at reporma ng PUV Modernization bago magpataw ng mga deadlines ang DOTr (Our call for a thorough study and reform of PUV Modernization before the DOTr imposes deadlines is reasonable),” she pointed out.

“I also call on my colleagues to help us prioritize the enactment of the Just and Humane PUV Modernization Act (I also call on my colleagues to help us prioritize the enactment of the Just and Humane PUV Modernization Act),” Poe appealed.