ENDEAVOR

On the eve of the start of Simbang Gabi or Christmas novena masses, transport groups, including Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON), plan to strike across the Philippines today and tomorrow, Dec. 14-15. They are seeking a rollback of the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program that will phase out traditional jeepneys.

President Marcos declared that there will be no extension of the current timeline, pointing out that “70 percent of all operators have already committed to, and consolidated under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).” He said that this “ensures that everyone can reap the benefits of the full operationalization of our modernized public transport system.”

Consolidation is the new paradigm, the alternative to the one jeepney-one driver-operator system. It seeks to accelerate the formation of transport cooperatives among several driver-operators for the purpose of enabling them to afford leveled-up operations involving bigger and more energy-efficient transport vehicles to replace dilapidated, gas-guzzling and smoke-emitting jeepneys that contribute significantly to pollution.

Two counterpoints have been raised. First, the protesting groups claim that the 70 percent figure is “misleading” as it does not just focus on jeepneys, but includes all types of public utility vehicles (PUVs) – such as buses, minibuses, and UV Express units – that have already complied with consolidation.

Second, there is wide variability in the progress of public transport industry consolidation. Socsksargen has posted 100 percent consolidation of all 6,121 PUV units; Calabarzon has 91.3 percent (26,547 out of 29,054 units); but Metro Manila lags at 25.91 percent with only 13,470 out of 51,984 units consolidated. 

Many Filipinos are probably not fully aware of the bigger picture, so let’s do a flashback.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) launched the PUVMP in 2017 during the Duterte administration. Recall that public information at that time focused heavily on the war against drugs. The Marawi siege took place in the third and fourth quarters of 2017. In 2018 and through 2019, the five top concerns were poverty, lack of education, drug or substance abuse, vice, crime, and unemployment. 

During the pandemic, jeepneys and public transportation were relegated to the background due to long periods of quarantine and lockdown. But the citizenry was taken aback by pictures of jeepneys being converted into improvised sleeping quarters and jeepney drivers begging for money and food on the streets.

Still and all, it is laudable that the DOTr rolled out a vision for improving quality of life through inclusive transportation by investing in a road-based transport reform program. Aside from the PUVMP, the three other components are: Bus Rapid Transit System, Integrated Terminal Exchange and an Intelligent Transport System with interoperability for planning and operations.

This “transformational large-scale initiative and flagship project” would be supported by the proposed Comprehensive Tax Reform Program of the Department of Finance. It envisions “a restructured, modern, well-managed, and environmentally sustainable transport sector where drivers and operators have stable, sufficient, and dignified livelihoods while commuters get to their destinations quickly, safely, and comfortably.” The ultimate vision: “By 2022, Filipinos will have a pleasant commuting experience.”

Unfortunately, this vision has been dimmed somewhat by the economic slowdown triggered by the pandemic that has, in turn, constrained the financing capability of government banks.

In 2021, Teodoro C. Mendoza, a retired Professor and UP Scientist, who also serves as director of Imus City’s Community Legal Help and Policy Center, wrote a paper for the UP Center for Integrative Development Studies entitled, Addressing the ‘Blind Side’ of the Government’s Jeepney ‘Modernization’ Program. He zeroed in on “two main ‘blind sides’: the high price per unit of the modern jeepney and the domino effect of a possible jeepney fare hike to cover the cost of purchasing modern jeepney units.”

Since the new units are imported, high dollar costs translate into heftier peso amounts, imposing high amortization rates that many of the nascent cooperatives find challenging. These translate into higher earnings through passenger fares needed by the driver or operator per day to cover the total costs of the unit. From experience, they know that increases in fares are not easily realizable.

Passenger fare increases bring on higher transport costs of food and other commodities from producers to consumers, higher transport costs per family, and eventually higher cost of living. Professor Mendoza projects that “daily wage earners will demand higher wages, which will have repercussions on the economy at large.”

For the short-term or transition stage, he recommends the following: “(1) Allow the overhaul or re-manufacture of older engines in order to considerably reduce emissions and pass the emission standards; (2) Encourage the local fabrication of modern jeepneys; and (3) Relax the engine type prescriptions (Euro 4) for jeepneys, provided that emission standards are met.”

He says the tendency to ascribe the greater blame for air pollution and traffic jams “to the iconic jeepney is too much to bear and too unfair for them” considering that “there are only 73,000 jeepneys in Metro Manila (in comparison to 2.5 million vehicles) and in the entire country, there are only around 300,000 of them (compared to a total of 12.75 million vehicles).”

He recommends localized modernization as a medium- to long-term strategy. This means local production of rubber tires and vehicle parts “that do not involve “rocket science” or complicated mechanisms.” Benefits to be reaped from this alternative strategy include “higher incomes for our rubber growers, and provide higher revenues for local providers and makers of vehicle parts and accessories.” Eventually, the localized approach to the modernization of public utility vehicles “should be viewed as a component of the country’s overall sustainable and inclusive economic development framework.”

In sum, the principal lever – and the main constraint – is public finance. In the present policy framework the role assigned to the local government units is route planning and route rationalization. But there are many affluent cities – such as Quezon City, Manila, Makati, Cebu and Davao – that could also allocate substantial amounts to finance PUV modernization. Investing in modernizing public transportation would go a long way toward making our cities “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.”