• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Bacolod City Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran personally submitted copies of Resolution 371, series of 2024, to the Senate and House of Representatives May 7, on the sanggunian request to “adequately address and cushion the impact of brewing crises” due to the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
This unanimous resolution of the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Bacolod was passed, after officers of the Kabacod Negros Transport Coalition (Knetco) aired their sentiments on the PUVMP implementation, during the SP session May 3.
The group, under the banner of the No to PUV Phaseout Coalition, “expressed their conformity to the PUVMP on a personal voluntary basis but, at the same time, ventilated their vehement objection to the mandatory consolidation scheme.”
The group claimed that the cost of consolidation is high and inhibitive, it will instantly render useless their traditional jeepney units which they had for years spent for, and it will disenfranchise thousands of jeepney operators and drivers in the country and thus deprive millions of Filipino families of their basic source of income for daily sustenance and for their children’s education.
“This current crisis in the transport industry has also seriously affected thousands of daily commuters, who have to stand in long queue under the heat of the sun for lack of PUVs that could take them to their respective destinations,” the SP said in the resolution.
It stressed the need for government to promptly address and resolve “this current crisis in the transport industry…to prevent an escalation into a more severe social unrest consequent to massive economic dislocation of millions of Filipino families.”
The Sangguniang Panlungsod was informed that public hearings on this current issue were already conducted in Congress, more particularly in the House of Representatives, where both the sides of the government and of the transport sector were comprehensively articulated, thus this resolution urging Congress to solve and expedite the passage of legislative measure/s that will adequately address and cushion the impact of the PUVMP.
Meanwhile, Bayan Muna chairman Neri Colmenares asked the Supreme Court May 7 to act on the petition filed by drivers, operators, and commuters against the PUVMP “as soon as possible.”
Colmenares, a Bacolodnon, is one of the counsels in a petition asking the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the PUVMP implementation. He said in an ‘X’ post that the high court is “currently in a decision-writing period until May 10”.
He said the program “is not only ill-conceived but also anti-driver and anti-poor. It is a classic example of neoliberal policies that only serve to widen the gap between the rich and the poor.
“We hope that the high court will act soon to prevent a transportation crisis. The PUVMP is a recipe for disaster, designed to favor big corporations and financial institutions at the expense of our jeepney drivers, operators and commuters,” Colmenares added.
His statement followed a call by experts to recalibrate the PUVMP to ensure a fair and orderly transition to a net-zero carbon future, noting that “phasing out traditional jeepneys without affordable alternatives could incentivize people to buy private vehicles, worsening traffic and pollution.” | CGC
