Transport group appeals dismissal of petition vs. PUV modernization

A group of drivers and operators on Tuesday asked the Supreme Court to reconsider its dismissal of their petition against the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

In a motion for reconsideration, the Bayyo Association, Inc. and its president Anselmo Perweg asked the court to grant their petition and declare paragraph 5.2 of the Department of Transportation's Department Order No. 2017-011, which provides for the implementation of the PUVMP, unconstitutional.

They argued that they have legal standing to file the petition, saying that they represent a sector that “stands to experience significant, direct, and personal harm” due to the program’s implementation.

They also appealed for a “more liberal approach” to legal standing.

“Petitioners have locus standi to file the instant petition as petitioner Bayyo… represented by its president, is a legitimate association of jeepney operators and their drivers operating in the different parts of Metro Manila. It has not only legal interest but also legal standing,” the motion read.

“Petitioners also sue in their capacities as citizens and taxpayers who will be denied certain fundamental rights to which they are entitled under the Constitution,” it added.

This was after the SC denied their petition due to a lack of legal standing and for violating the principle of the hierarchy of courts. 

However, Bayyo said that there is no other plain, speedy, or adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law that is available.

They said that the petition was not in violation of the hierarchy of courts.

“Direct resort to this court is justified since what is at issue is the constitutionality of a DO, which affects people’s constitutional rights to due process and equal protection,” they said.

The PUVMP, 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 the standards of the Land Transportation Office.

Under the program, jeepney drivers and operators are required to join or form cooperatives. They may also apply for new franchises, but as part of transport cooperatives.

“Even [President Ferdinand] Marcos [Jr.] emphasized that modernization needs to be implemented differently, acknowledging the need for a review of the implementation timeline and the standards for declaring vehicles unsafe, but the respondents are determined to implement the same with alacrity, with or without personnel or funds,” they said.

“Direct resort to the Honorable Court is justified by the transcendental importance of the issues raised and involved in the petition.''

Other petitions seeking to stop the implementation of the PUVMP have been pending with the SC since 2023. — VBL, GMA Integrated News