Jeepney strike set for next week; LTFRB mulls grace period
By Chloe Mari A. Hufana
JEEPNEY drivers and operators group Manibela will stage a strike on June 10-12 to protest the apprehension of unconsolidated jeepneys despite initiatives in Congress for a one-year moratorium on the transport crackdown.
In a virtual press briefing on Tuesday, Manibela deplored the government’s impounding of unconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUVs) and imposition of fines.
“It was clear in our congressional hearing that it was agreed upon that no one will be apprehended and there is no violation for being unconsolidated to warrant impounding our vehicles,” Manibela president Mario “Mar” S. Valbuena said in Filipino.
Mr. Valbuena was citing a House of Representatives hearing in which congressmen encouraged the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to suspend the crackdown and give unconsolidated PUV operators a one-year grace period to modernize their vehicles accordingly.
In a separate briefing on Tuesday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) confirmed it will be studying the possibility of giving unconsolidated PUVs the one-year extension to comply with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
“Our board will revisit how to relieve those who did not participate in the consolidation,” LTFRB Board Member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said, noting that they scheduled a meeting on the matter next week.
The DoTr and the LTFRB have warranted the following penalties on unconsolidated PUVs still plying their routes: a fine of P10,000; a 30-day impounding; and a one-year suspension of the driver.
The driver or operator may also need to pay P50,000 to retrieve their commuter jeepney units from impounding.
LTFRB Chairman Teofilo E. Guadiz III said on May 15 about 1,900 PUVs did not join the program. However, transport group PISTON said about 20,000 units in the capital region alone did not consolidate.
In a Viber message to BusinessWorld transport advocate and AltMobility PH Director Ira F. Cruz said: “Instead of focusing efforts on the apprehension of colorum and non-consolidated units, the government should be laying down plans to make sure that [the] needs of all commuters are met and figure out how to lower car dependence.”
Mr. Cruz urged the government to organize a multisectoral discussion to address all the issues of the modernization program with representatives from concerned sectors.
Ms. Paras-Leynes said that 80% of PUV drivers and operators are already consolidated as earlier pointed out by DoTr Secretary Jaime J. Bautista.
However, drivers and operators continue to bewail the costs of modernization, particularly the price of a modern unit that goes for as much as P2.8 million.
The modernization program started in 2017, aiming to replace traditional Filipino jeepneys with units that have at least a Euro-4-compliant engine to lessen pollution.
Under the modernization program, they are also required to join cooperatives.
As a result, transport groups sought a temporary restraining order before the Supreme Court to halt the modernization program. — with a report from Ashley Erika O. Jose
