Transport modernization still on; Dizon open to changes
- Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said he was still open to making changes to address the concerns of transport groups, including that of transport group Manibela’s, whose members are on a three-day strike. Despite the scheduled talks, Dizon emphasized that the implementation of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) would continue.
- According to Dizon, he would wait for the report of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on the status of the Local Public Transportation Route Plan, which is the ongoing phase of the PTMP.
- While Manibela members were protesting in different parts of Metro Manila against the PTMP, other transport groups across the country also staged their programs in support of the program.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has assured the public that there is no stopping the government’s implementation of the much-delayed Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
However, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Monday said he was still open to making changes to address the concerns of transport groups, including that of transport group Manibela’s, whose members are on a three-day strike.
Dizon committed to giving a “solution” in two weeks’ time after the DOTr meets with various stakeholders to iron out the remaining issues hounding the program.
“We are absolutely open to changes because clearly, there are some issues that need to be resolved,” he said in a media briefing at the command center of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in Pasig City.
Dizon said he would spend this week talking with transport groups for and against some current provisions of the PTMP and “listen to all the issues and concerns,” stressing that the DOTr would be “sensitive” to the plight of all the public utility vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers.
Despite the scheduled talks, Dizon emphasized that the implementation of the PTMP would continue.
“I will repeat this … : There is no stopping the PUV modernization program. We are not suspending it, but we want to validate our consolidation figures,” he said.
“We should support those who have already consolidated so that the [PTMP] will run smoothly. But we also need to see the situation on the ground, if there are still things the government needs to do to ensure that the program will be successful. If it means we should not be rushing the nationwide implementation (of some components of the PTMP) for now, then I think we would have to make that decision soon,” he pointed out.
High consolidation rate
According to Dizon, he would wait for the report of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on the status of the Local Public Transportation Route Plan, which is the ongoing phase of the PTMP.
Under the route rationalization program, the DOTr and the LTFRB coordinate with local governments to study which routes are needed, and how many units are needed to ensure that the demand is met.
Once the numbers are determined, these cooperatives will then be given 27 months to purchase new vehicles that comply with the PTMP, which aims to have vehicles with Euro-4-compliant engines to lessen pollution and to remove units that are no longer considered roadworthy.
The LTFRB, meanwhile, denied Manibela president and senatorial candidate Mar Valbuena’s claim that it falsified figures on the number of PUV operators that have consolidated into cooperatives or corporations as a requirement under the PTMP, the reason for the groups’ three-day strike.
“Secretary Dizon was right when he said that only 43 percent are fully consolidated,” LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III said.
“But the person who provided him that information left out a very important detail—that the other 43 percent, although needing to comply with additional documents, already have provisional authority, meaning they are plying the routes. This makes the total of consolidated jeepneys at 86 percent,” he said.
‘Failure’
According to the LTFRB, the Manibela transport strike was a “failure,” citing minimal turnout and little to no impact on commuter traffic.
While Manibela members were protesting in different parts of Metro Manila against the PTMP, other transport groups across the country also staged their programs in support of the program.
Among those pushing for the continued implementation of the PTMP were the National Federation of Transport Cooperatives, Tindig Calabarzon, Arangkada NCR, Altodap, Act, Busina and Pasang Masda.
In Bicol, transport services were not affected by the nationwide strike as most drivers and operators in the region chose not to join, citing the lack of preparation and the “abrupt” notice.
In an interview, Concerned Drivers and Operators-Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Condor-Piston) spokesperson Ramon Rescovilla said drivers could not afford to suspend their services due to the sudden announcement of the protest, leaving them “unprepared” and “uncoordinated.”
“Our members in Bicol are confused by Valbuena’s abrupt and inconsistent decisions,” Rescovilla said in a phone interview.
He also noted that Valbuena’s reason for the protest—the supposed discrepancies in the jeepney consolidation records released by the LTFRB—was not a sufficient basis for calling a transport strike. —WITH A REPORT FROM KARL IAN MORISSEY RAMOS
