DOTr nixes PUV group demands to stop program

“There were demands and we are ready to address all these but one very important issue that is non-negotiable is the industry consolidation.

Because we really need players to consolidate into cooperatives or corporations,” Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said on the sidelines of the Pilipinas Conference in Makati.

Under the PUV modernization program, drivers and operators were given until Dec. 31 to form a cooperative or corporation that would allow them to avail of financial assistance and a government subsidy, to upgrade their fleet with low-carbon emission, safe, and efficient units.

Bautista, however, said the agency is amenable to the other demands of the transport groups, such as the issuance of a five-year franchise.

He added that other transport groups were supportive of the government’s PUV modernization program.

“We are used to the transport strike that Manibela is doing. Piston, we were talking to them yesterday,” he said.

“We are ready to talk to them anytime. Proper communication is important, but we must be serious and honest about our intentions,” Bautista added.

Bautista said the DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) lines are open for discussions with transport groups to thresh out issues surrounding the program.

“I still believe we can resolve the issues through honest communication. We have been fine-tuning the program according to the voices of transport groups,” Bautista said.

“In the PUV modernization program, we ensure no one gets left behind,” he added.

As of November 2023, over 5,000 routes with 135,761 consolidated franchises have been approved, and operated by 1,838 cooperatives and consolidated companies.

The government has dispatched over 70 vehicles to assist commuters in Metro Manila areas affected by the ongoing transport strike, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Wednesday.

MMDA chairman Romando Artes said the “rescue” vehicles —- trucks, buses, coasters, and mobile patrol cars — from the MMDA, the Office of the Vice President, the Office of the House Speaker, the Philippine National Police, and local government units, served around 1,328 commuters in the affected areas.

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, the affected areas were Sucat and Baclaran in Paranaque City; Divisoria, Lardizabal, Dela Fuente, Sta. Mesa, all in Manila; and Elliptical Road (Quezon City Hall), General Luis, and Cubao in Quezon City.

The task force was also monitoring the protest action at the Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola and ensuring that MMDA traffic enforcers were present to direct traffic.

The transport group Manibela joined Piston to protest the government’s PUV modernization program.

Piston estimated the nationwide strike achieved 90 percent paralysis on all major routes in Metro Manila alone by the end of the first day, a claim that the government disputes.

Piston’s strike was supposed to end Wednesday, but some members said the inability of the LTFRB to meet their demands is pushing them to continue their protest.

The group wants the government to remove the Dec. 31 deadline for franchise consolidation, completely eliminate the franchise consolidation requirement, and completely repeal the PUV modernization program. — Darwin G. Amojelar & Joel E. Zurbano