Office open on Sunday, December 31, 2023, to receive jeep consolidation papers

The Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC) will be open on Sunday, December 31, to accommodate jeepney operators who will file for consolidation as part of the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVM).

The deadline for consolidation is on December 31 and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has announced it would no longer be extended.

“We hope na mas marami pang hahabol because ang kapalit ng paghahabol ay hindi na makakapasada, makakatrabaho after December 31. So we are open. LTFRB. OTC. We’re open on December 31,” said OTC Legal Officer Christian Oberio in Joseph Morong’s Wednesday report on “24 Oras”.

(We hope that more operators will file because not complying means you can no longer ply your routes. We are open. The LTFRB, the OTC. We’re open on December 31.)

The PUV Modernization Program, which started in 2017, aims to replace jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution and replace PUVs that are not roadworthy by Land Transportation Office standards.

Each unit, however, would cost over P2 million, an amount that even state-run banks LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) said was too expensive for PUV drivers and operators. 

Latest data from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) revealed that 73.5% or 31,058 traditional jeepneys in Metro Manila have yet to be consolidated as of December 26 and stand to lose their franchise after December 31. 

Transportation group PISTON previously warned against a possible transportation crisis following the franchise loss of the affected jeepneys.

However, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said there would be enough PUVs for commuters and that it would coordinate with local government units (LGUs) after the expiry of the consolidation deadline.

Major routes in the National Capital Region are already covered by consolidated jeepney units, the DoTr said. 

Consolidated jeepneys will be allowed to apply for special permits to ply routes with no consolidated PUVs, it added. —Sundy Locus/NB, GMA Integrated News