Backpedal from disaster

Government’s decision to again move the deadline for the consolidation phase of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program from the end of this month to 30 April shows a weak resolve.

Even the Palace excuse was a form of surrender to the small loud group seeking to stop the scheme to upgrade mass transportation from starting.

For the PUVMP to start rolling, the first phase involves consolidating individual jeepney franchises into cooperatives or corporations. The step is necessary for acquiring modern units through the drivers’ groups which would then receive government assistance.

Palace spokesperson Cheloy Garafil indicated that the extension was based on the recommendation of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, who should have reviewed the implications of such a concession.

Bautista rationalized the postponement would “allow those who expressed an intention to consolidate but did not make the cut-off” to do so.

The requirement that jeepney owners organize themselves into groups was known even before the pandemic struck in 2019 and the health emergency only served to support the need to modernize and organize the transport setup to make government services flow smoothly.

The distribution of aid then was inefficient due to the logistical nightmare of having to deal with each of the owners and drivers of the estimated 250,000 jeepneys nationwide.

Since the majority of jeepney drivers are sole proprietors, putting the iconic vehicles on the road depended on their whims. Thus, there are periods of the day such as lunchtime or when it rained that jeepneys became scarce.

The commuters themselves have been clamoring for change.

Pollster Capstone-Intel Corp. conducted a survey recently that showed 70 percent of commuters wanted to keep the PUVMP on track. Some 70 percent of respondents expressed support for the program.

The survey also indicated commuters’ shifting preference away from the conventional transportation mode, with 37 percent preferring motorcycle taxis and 34 percent sticking with the jeepneys.

Based on the poll, the public is willing to pay a little more to get to their destination comfortably and on time, which are considerations that are usually compromised with the unorganized jeepney operations.

Jeepneys are the last public conveyance to modernize. The government’s plan to improve the commuting experience started in 1997 with city and provincial buses.

Also upgraded were the so-called “FX” taxis which have been leveled up to UV Express vans. School bus services also underwent a modernization plan.

The modernization of the jeepneys was also implied in the country’s international commitment to transition to mass transport that emits less carbon.

The argument of the trouble-maker leftist-inspired associations such as Piston is that the upgrading should not proceed since operators would go bankrupt.

But many of those who have consolidated their operations attest to the viability of modernization and the huge fuel savings.

The toughest hurdle thus for most of the jeepney owners and drivers is the coercion and the false fears being spread by the groups whose interest is to destabilize the government.

Holding firm on the necessary changes has the support of the public, while the uncertainty the government has shown with its flip-flopping decisions would naturally be exploited by the opportunists.

Since the troublemakers know that the government could easily be arm-twisted, the next mass protest would be bigger and more aggressive since this works for them.

Government should show some teeth, if not fangs, in implementing programs or these won’t get started at all, spelling trouble for the incumbent administration.