• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Transport group Piston said Tuesday it will hold a nationwide strike on Dec. 14 and 15 following the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. not to extend the Dec. 31 deadline for the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles.
“Currently, 70 percent of all operators have already committed to and consolidated under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP),” Marcos said in a post Dec. 12, adding that “adhering to the current timeline ensures that everyone can reap the benefits of the full operationalization of our modernized public transport system”.
“We cannot let the minority cause further delays, affecting majority of our operators, banks, financial institutions, and the public at large. Hence, the scheduled timeline will not be moved,” Marcos stressed, adding the non-extension was decided in a meeting with transport officials.
But Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide) said the claim that 70 percent of operators had already consolidated is “misleading”.
“Yung claim na 70 percent na ang consolidated ay misleading. Kabuuang bilang yun ng consolidated para sa lahat ng tipo ng PUVs nationwide kabilang ang mga bus,” it said, adding that only 26 percent of jeepneys and 36 percent of UV Express (UVEs) in the National Capital Region, where majority of the drivers are located, had consolidated.
The group also alleged that most of local government units nationwide have yet to come up with their respective Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP), which details the routes for PUVs under the modernization program. “Hindi handa ang karamihan ng mga LGU para sa consolidation”.
In Bacolod, its LPTRP identifies 24 routes for the 1,099 modernized PUJs authorized to operate.
Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez said Dec. 11 that there are now more than 600 air-conditioned PUJs plying the streets of the highly-urbanized city.
He also stressed that he’s been talking to jeepney operators and drivers, and most of them are not opposed to the modernization program itself, but only its process. “There are just some guidelines and policies na indi nila nagustuhan…it’s just a matter of talking to them and ironing out differences.” | CGC
