Modernizing the country’s public transport system means drivers must also leave behind their old ways of plying the roads and be more disciplined when driving, President Marcos said as he stressed the importance of the country’s jeepney modernization program.
 

(File Photo / MANILA BULLETIN)

In his BBM Vlog 255, the Chief Executive read the letter received through Bahay Ugnayan, a museum inside the Palace premises.
 

One of the letters asked the President not to phase out the traditional jeepney because “ito po ay simbolo ng Filipino (this symbolizes the Filipino).”
 

But Marcos argued that modernizing the country’s public transport system, the capital of which was ranked the 5th worst public transport system in the world according to think-tank Oliver Wyman Forum and the University of California, Berkeley, can also bring about change in public transport drivers.
 

“Higit pa sa pagbabago at pagmoderno ng mga pampublikong sasakyan, kailangan na rin nating iwanan ang lumang pag-uugali sa kalye. Dapat moderno na rin (Aside from changing and mordernizing thee public transport, we also need to leave the old ways of driving on the road. It needs to be modern, too),” he said in the vlog.
 

The President asked drivers to be more disciplined, to give way, to be considerate to others, and to follow traffic rules.
 

“Iyan ang mga kailangan nating i-modernize din. Tama na ‘yung mga madamot sa daan, mga nagbaba ng pasahero sa gitna ng daan, mga hindi ginagalang ang bike lane, hindi pinapadaan ang mga ambulansya, pagpapark sa tabi ng daan na nagiging obstruction sa daloy ng traffic (That’s what we need to also modernize. Let’s stop being greedy on the road, those who stop in the middle of the road to let passengers off, those who don’t respect the bike lane, those who block ambulances, those who park on the sideways that obstruct the flow of traffic),” Marcos lamented.
 

“Bagong Pilipinas na po tayo, disiplina ang dapat pairalin (In the New Philippines, we need to be more disciplined),” he added, referring to his administration’s overall slogan, “Bagong Pilipinas (New Philippines),” which aims to improve and expand government services.
 

Another letter backed the jeepney modernization program, “Dear, Mr. President, I hope you can do something about our jeepney; it is getting worst.”
 

Under the jeepney modernization program, traditional jeepneys will be phased out and will be replaced by air-conditioned electric jeepneys or mini buses. The deadline for the consolidation of e-jeepneys was moved to April 30, following a series of massive transport strikes before the original Dec. 31, 2023 deadline. 
 

Drivers, however, continue to mount protests against the program because e-jeepneys can cost as much as P2.8 million per unit.