The decision of President Marcos not to extend the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUVs) was supported by the "majority" of PUV operators, a transport official said.

In a statement released by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC) Chairman Jesus Ortega stated that Marcos initially listened to the request of the cooperatives to extend the consolidation in March 2023.

However, when the President opted not to extend the deadline in December last year,Ortega said it was still supported by the majority of the operators in the country.

“Nung nag-extend po yung ating Pangulo nung Marso, si President Marcos, ginawa po niya yun para pagbigyan muli ang mga nagtatanong (When the President extended the deadline in March, he did it to give a chance to those who were asking for it). Being new, one year pa lang siya nun (he was only a year into the presidency), that was a good move on the part of the President to say ‘I am listening to you’,” Ortega said.

“Pero nung nag-decide naman siya nung December 12 na firm na, nag-decide rin siya, nakinig rin siya sa majority (But when he decided lasy Dec. 12, he also listened to the majority,” he added, referring to the majority of the cooperatives who supported his decision not to extend the consolidation.

It can be recalled that the President did not extend the deadline for the consolidation of PUV operators on Dec. 12 as 70 percent of all operators in the country have complied with the requirements under the PUV modernization initiative.

He then said that they could no longer extend the deadline as the government cannot let the minority cause further delays to the modernization program.

"We cannot let the minority cause further delays, affecting majority of our operators, banks, financial institutions, and the public at large," Marcos said.

READ MORE: No extension of deadline for PUV consolidation — Marcos