Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Wednesday, August 7 clarified that the Senate’s intention to pursue the temporary suspension of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) is to give government time to thresh out and fix the issues hounding the program.
Escudero reiterated the Senate’s position after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. thumbed down the Senate resolution calling for the suspension of the PUV modernization.
Escudero noted it has been six years since the government rolled out the PUVMP and yet only half of its budget for modernization were utilized.
“Six years, and yet minority pa rin ang local manufacturers ng mga jeep na ito. Masa marami pa din ang dayuhang manufacturer ng jeep na ito (It’s been six years but local manufacturers of jeepneys are still a minority. Foreign manufacturers still domminate the scene),” Escudero pointed out during a press conference.
“Walang masama pag preno ng konti. Mag-menor ng konti at balik-tanawan ang mga kakulangan na pwedeng punuan bago tuluyang umarangkada ika nga (there’s nothing wrong with stepping the breaks. They should slow down a bit and review the loopholes needed to be plugged before they fully implement it),” the Senate leader stressed.
At least 22 senators have signed Senate Resolution No. 1096, which expresses the sense of the Senate “to suspend the implementation of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) pending the resolution of valid and urgent concerns raised by affected drivers, groups, union and transport cooperatives with the end view of ensuring a more efficient and inclusive implementation of the PTMP.”
Escudero said the call for a suspension of the PUVMP would only apply to those who have yet to comply with the government’s order and not those who have already complied with the consolidation.
The Senate chief also said senators are only asking the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to provide Congress a detailed information about the program and their readiness to implement the PTMP.
“Ang hinihiling ng Senado ay simple, ayusin niyo na muna bago niyo lubusan at tuluyang ipagbawal lahat (The Senate’s appeal is simple, the government should first fix the program before they proceed with banning old transport models),” he said.
“Ngayon, iyong mga nag-comply at sumunod na, hindi naman namin sinasabing bawiin at itigil. Nandun na iyon, alangan naman babawiin mo pa (Now, those who have complied and followed, we’re not saying they should revoke or stop them. They have already been lodged, it's not possible to retract it),” he pointed out.