MANILA, Philippines — Government officials once again stressed that they are not forcing jeepney and UV Express cooperatives to transition into expensive minibuses under the controversial PUV Modernization Program.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III has this to say more than a week after the consolidation deadline, with the transition into modern minibuses being the next step in the PUVMP.
Related Stories
"The cooperatives will be the ones to decide when choosing and purchasing modern jeepneys," explained Guadiz in a statement in Filipino this Tuesday.
"The government has no say in determining what kind of units they will buy and from which country it should come from," he added.
Many operators and drivers are opposing the PUVMP in its current form since some units could cost as high as P2.8 million each.
There are some Filipino manufactuers however, like Francisco Motors, that offer modern jeepneys at around P985,000. This is still more expensive compared to traditional jeepney units that only costs around P200,000 to P600,000 each.
Philstar.com already sought the comment of Piston and Manibela why more affordable Filipino-made modern jeeps are quite rare on the roads compared to imported minibuses but have yet to offer a reply.
Progressive groups have earlier said that the PUVMP will mostly benefit foreign capitalists, and that a just transition should also entail more government support for local industrialization and manufacturing or vehicles.
"They [cooperatives] could buy locally-made or from Japan, or China, or whatever country. The cooperatives will be the ones to decide and not the state," Guadiz further explained.
"We also ensure that the primary aspect to consider in shifting to modern jeepneys is the safety and roadworthiness of the new jeepney units to provide better service to the commuters."
The government official further clarified that transport cooperatives have thhe autonomy to choose from the Department of Trade and Industry-approved manufacturers that adhere to the Philippine national standard.
Currently, there are 32 models of modern jeepney plying around the country which are either locally manufactured or assembled.
The LTFRB earlier said that those who haven't consolidated yet into cooperatives by December 31 could only operate on Philippine roads until January 31, especially on roads which have low consolidation rates.
After the said deadline, cooperatives will only be given a set amount of time to transition before traditional jeepneys are completely phased out.