Unconsolidated PUV franchises to be revoked 'a week or two' after April 30 deadline —DOTr

Unconsolidated operators and drivers will be notified that their franchises are revoked “a week or two” after the April 30 consolidation deadline, a Department of Transportation (DOTr) official said Tuesday.

"Bibigyan naman ng due process ng LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board)," DOTr Undersecretary Ferdinand Ortega told Unang Balita in an interview when asked if unconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUVs) will be apprehended starting Wednesday, the day after the deadline.

"Bibigyan pa 'yan ng show cause, sasagot pa sila," he added.

"So it will take a few days, maybe a week or two para sila ay finally masasabihan o mabibigyan ng information na sila ay wala nang prangkisa at sila ay hindi na puwede pumasada."

(The LTFRB will give them due process. It will give them show cause order and they will have to respond. So it will take a few days, maybe a week or two, for them to finally be told or given information that they no longer have a franchise and they can no longer operate.)

In a Balitanghali interview on Tuesday, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said that unconsolidated PUVs would be provided an opportunity to explain why they were unable to comply with the government deadline.

"Technically, colorum na sila but as a process by the law, pagpapaliwanagin muna namin sila. After one week po, magpapalabas na rin kami ng utos na 'yung mga hindi nakapagpaliwanag or hindi katanggap-tanggap ang paliwanag ay puwede na po naming hulihin 'yan… Ang penalty po niyan ay one-year suspension sa driver, at P50,000 ang multa naman doon sa sasakyang mai-impound po namin," he said.

(Technically, they are already colorum but as a process by the law, we’ll let them explain first. After one week, we will release an order that those who couldn’t explain or could not provide an acceptable explanation can be apprehended… The penalty for this is one-year suspension to the driver and P50,000 penalty fee for the vehicle that we will impound.)

Ortega urged unconsolidated operators and drivers not to persist in operating despite their lack of franchise.

Rescue routes

As of Sunday, the LTFRB said that 78.33% or 150,179 units have consolidated. There is also a 73.71% route consolidation as of April 23.

"'Yung mga areas na nakikita namin na baka po magkaproblema ay inimbitahan na ho namin yung mga jeepney operators ng adjusted route o yung tinatawag naming rescue route na if they have excess jeepneys. They can travel [along] those routes using special permit issued by LTFRB," said Guadiz.

(For the areas that we think could be problematic, we are inviting jeepney operators of adjusted routes, or what we call rescue routes, if they have excess jeepneys. They can travel along those routes using special permit issued by LTFRB.)

Ortega earlier said that in Metro Manila, around 59% of operators and drivers have already consolidated into cooperatives in compliance with the government's PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP).

Final deadline

According to Ortega, the DOTr remains firm that the consolidation of PUVs will close on Tuesday and that there will be no more extension.

Started in 2017, the PUVMP aims to replace jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution. It also aims to replace units that are not deemed roadworthy by the Land Transportation Office's standards.

A modern jeepney unit costs over P2 million, an amount that even state-run banks LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines said was too expensive for PUV drivers and operators.

On Monday, transport groups went on a three-day strike, filed a supplemental petition and again asked the Supreme Court (SC) to issue a temporary restraining order against the PUVMP.

On the second day of the transport strike on Tuesday, the protesting drivers once again gathered at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila. They intend to stage their protest until evening. —KBK/VDV, GMA Integrated News