Transport group doubts gov’t can find jeepney drivers alternative jobs
A TRANSPORT group leader said the government’s recent statement that agencies are working to find alternative jobs for jeepney drivers confirms their position that the modernization program will ultimately leave many of them without livelihood. “It only proves our assumption that the jeepney phaseout is intended to remove from the public transport industry the over 500,000 jeepney drivers and 200,000 small jeepney operators all over the country,” George F. San Mateo, leader of transport group PISTON, said in Filipino. Land Transportation and Franchising Authority (LTFRB) board member Aileen A. Lizada said in a television interview that the Department of Transportation (DoTr) is working on a memorandum of agreement offering alternative livelihoods for jeepney drivers who cannot modernize their vehicles within three years. “Are you going to modernize? If not, that’s what DoTr is fixing. We are giving you options. A memorandum of agreement with DoLE (Department of Labor and Employment), TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) and DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) is being finalized,” Ms. Lizada said. Mr. San Mateo doubted that the government can deliver, pointing out that the country is already faced with other labor concerns such as the displacement from Boracay’s temporary closure and overseas Filipino workers from Kuwait. Ms. Lizada and DoTr officials could not be immediately reached for further comments. — Denise A. Valdez
De Lima calls for check on health workers’ compensation
SENATOR LEILA M. De Lima, through a resolution filed April 26, has called for the convening of the Congressional Commission on Health (HealthCom) to revisit Republic Act No. 7305, the Magna Carta of Public Health Workers, and monitor if health workers in government are properly compensated. “Fifteen years since its enactment, monitoring of the implementation of the law has been generally weak and our PHWs (public health workers) still remain undervalued,” she said in a statement Sunday. “There is an urgent need for HealthCom to convene and to revisit the law and the revised Implementing Rules and Regulations to determine what provisions need to be amended in order to plug the loopholes and to bridge the statutory gaps,” she added. — Camille A. Aguinaldo
