• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod has endorsed to the Office of the President and the Department of Transportation the letter of modernized jeepney corporations and cooperatives that requested assistance from the city on various concerns.
The letter, signed by representatives of 11 modernized jeepney operators and more than 70 of their members, including drivers and conductors, said that at present, they “cannot meet the monthly amortization we are supposed to pay the bank for the mortgage of the vehicle we purchased on credit, in compliance with the modernization program of the government”.
A modern jeepney costs about P1.4 million to P2.5 million, depending on the unit and make, and the price will increase if purchased on credit, reports said.
“We are asking the local government of Bacolod City for assistance, help, or guidance in order for us to service efficiently the riding public and to meet the monthly amortizations with the bank,” the groups said in their letter dated Feb. 15 and tackled during the Feb. 28 regular session of the sanggunian.
Several officers, directors, and members of various modern jeepney corporations and cooperatives also attended the SP session and reiterated their appeal.
“In order to support the (PUJ modernization) program of the government, we form corporations and cooperatives, and processed all the required documents for the consolidation of franchise with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board,” the groups said.
They said they experienced hardships, not only in complying with all the needed documents for consolidation, but also financially. “We have done our best to embrace the program of the government, bearing in mind the welfare of the riding public. After the grant of the franchise, we operated the modernized jeepneys, giving the riding public comfort with the aim also to defray the monthly amortization we secured from the bank.”
In the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) of Bacolod, 24 routes with total allocation of 1,099 air-conditioned jeepneys have been identified under the PUV modernization program.
But Mayor Alfredo Benitez said in a press conference in January that, of the 2,313 traditional jeepney units in Bacolod, only 540, or 23 percent, underwent consolidation, as of Dec. 27.
In January, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended the consolidation deadline until April 30 this year, from the initial Dec. 31, “to give an opportunity to those who expressed intention to consolidate but did not make the previous cutoff.” | CGC
