DOTr's Bautista: Cooperatives non-negotiable in PUV modernization

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on Wednesday said the government is willing to address the demands of transport groups currently on strike, even as he said this has not made a major dent in the sector in the past few days.

According to Bautista, the government is open to discussing the demands of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON), but the consolidation requirement for jeepney operators and drivers will remain a key aspect of the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).

“There were demands and sabi nga namin (we said), we are ready to address all these but one very important issue that sabi namin (we said), non-negotiable ‘yung industry consolidation because we really need the players to consolidate to a cooperative or corporation,” he told reporters in Makati City.

This comes as PISTON held a nationwide strike from November 20 to November 22, 2023, to protest the government’s PUVMP. Their strike ended Wednesday.

Among the key issues in the PUVMP is the required consolidation into cooperatives to establish a larger fleet of PUVs, as part of the first phase that began under the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 aiming to replace jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution.

Drivers and operators, however, have complained about the costs which can hit over P2 million.

Bautista on Wednesday said government officials, including representatives of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), have discussed issues with PISTON and its lawyers on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.

“Actually, halos naman lahat (ng demands pwedeng pagbigyan). Ang kailangan lang, konting oras, pero ang sabi ko ang hindi naman talaga pwedeng pagbigyan is ‘yung ayaw nilang mag-consolidate,” he said.

(Actually, we can heed almost all of their demands. We just need some time, but I said what we cannot grant is their wish to not consolidate.)

“Ang tingin namin (In our view), this is one of… an important component of the public utility vehicle modernization program,” he added.

Among the demands of PISTON is for new vehicles to be granted a five-year franchise, and the fast-tracking of the transfer of the franchises should vehicles be sold. This then leads to the operators not being granted fuel subsidies even if they already acquired the vehicles.

“‘Yung subsidy na ‘yan ay mababayaran dun sa registered owner and one of the issue daw diyan ay dahil naibenta na sa kanila pero hindi pa nalilipat ay hindi nila makukuha ‘yung fuel subsidy,” Bautista said.

“But sabi nga namin kung maipapakita niyo na ‘yung mga documents ay tama, maski hindi pa nata-transfer ay bibigay namin ‘yung fuel subsidy sa kanila,” he added.

(The subsidy will be paid to the registered owner and one of the issues there is that even if they have already acquired the vehicle, they do not receive the fuel subsidy. We said that if they can present the necessary documents, even if the franchise has not yet been transferred, the fuel subsidy will be given to them.)

For his part, PISTON national president Mody Floranda said the group is open to discuss the issue of cooperatives, if this entails that the individual still owns the unit and the franchise. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News