By ILOILO CITY – Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) – Panay and Lead Convenor of No To PUV Phaseout Coalition (NTPPC) – Panay, Elmer Forro, went to Congress last January 10, 2024, during the Transportation Committee’s motu propio investigation on the alleged corrupt practices that may have tainted the conceptualization and planned implementation of the jeepney modernization program.
The hearing was attended by officials from the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Land Transportation Franchise Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and other agencies.
Forro, as one of the resource persons during the hearing, registered the opposition of Ilonggo drivers, operators, and commuters against the PUV Modernization Program, citing corruption issues inside cooperatives, LPTRPs designed to remove traditional PUJs, and other issues raised against LTFRB regarding consolidated and unconsolidated PUV units.
In an interview, Forro said that the hearing was a success as they were able to voice out their demands.
In a statement on Wednesday, January 24, the Presidential Communications Office said that “President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved Transport Secretary Jaime J. Bautista’s recommendation, granting an additional three months until April 30, 2024, for the consolidation of public utility vehicles”.
It can be noted that the consolidation deadline already lapsed on December 31, 2023, but unconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUVs) had been allowed to keep operating until January 31, 2024. It can also be noted that Marcos Jr. also insisted last year that there will not be extending said deadline to ensure the full operationalization of the transportation system.
According to Forro, this victory is just a step toward achieving the goal of junking the government-proposed modernization program. Forro said that drivers, operators, and commuters must continue to unite and call to oppose the jeepney phaseout. /PT
