Recto wants higher gov’t subsidy for e-jeepneys

House Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto on Thursday called on the Marcos administration to increase its subsidy for public utility drivers in need of purchasing the P2.8 million e-jeepney required for the public utility vehicle modernization program.

Recto issued the statement a day after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) moved the deadline for jeepney owners to comply with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) to the end of the year from June 30.

Recto said that the existing P160,000 subsidy is just too paltry compared with other government subsidies such as transport subsidy for Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit and education subsidy under the Free College Education law.

“If you have P160,000 to spare, as an interim measure, can we increase the fund for the upgrading of legacy jeeps? Sana mapag-aralan [I hope we can study that],” he said.

“Billions of TESDA funds can be used in upgrading  traditional jeeps, with  the latter serving as learning material for tech-voc students mentored by experts,” Recto added, referring to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

Recto said that additional subsidy is crucial, given that the country’s estimated 200,000 traditional jeepneys ferry as many as 25 million passengers a day.

“They are the ‘Everything, Everywhere All At Once’ ride. They provide essential services yet treated as eyesores. Improve them. Don’t make them extinct,” he said.

“This is a nation awash in taxpayer subsidies. I challenge the Department of Transportation. They should show how much is the projected per passenger fare subsidy for subway. Is it true that it could reach as much as P150 per passenger per ride? And let’s look at taxpayer subsidy for a state college student. It is already at P73,000 pre-pandemic,” he said.

Recto then said that the postponement of the modernization program until the end of the year should give the government enough time to address the plight of the traditional PUV drivers.

“If sticker price ng modern jeep is at P2.8 million, that is really expensive,” Recto said.

Recto also agreed with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.  that imposing “expiry dates” on PUVs is not the way to go.

“Taxis in Hong Kong and other countries are decades old. The President is right: when it comes to cars, age is not the only factor; maintenance is,” Recto said.

Back in 2017, then-President Rodrigo Duterte said that drivers who didn't modernize their jeepneys by January 2018 should just endure hunger.

“January 1, ‘pag hindi niyo na-modernize ‘yan, umalis kayo. Mahirap kayo? P— ina, sige. Magtiiis kayo sa hirap at gutom, wala akong pakialam. It’s the majority of the Filipino people. Huwag ninyong ipasubo ang tao,” he said. — BM, GMA Integrated News