Opposition mounts against PUV modernization program

December 7, 2020 Metro BLISTT

BAGUIO CITY -Various jeepney associations in the city have lodged a petition against the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.
In their letter of appeal addressed to the city council, members of the jeepney associations said they are worried that their livelihood will end by December 31 of this year if they fail to comply with the requisites of the PUV modernization program. They said one of these requisites is franchise consolidation. The transport groups urged the august body to intervene and come up with specific actions supporting their position on the matter.
“We have been lobbying in your offices and even in regular sessions this year and even the previous years regarding this issue on our livelihood. We come again to ask you to support our demand against this program that aims to demolish our livelihood as operators and drivers,” the letter stated.
The transport groups cited two council resolutions supporting the campaign against the phasing out of old public utility vehicles. In September 2017, the city council passed a resolution (Resolution 329-2017) supporting the call of the Baguio-Benguet Jeepney Associations Coalition for No Jeepney Phase Out in the city with the condition that the jeepney units shall be properly maintained and shall be in good running condition in accordance with the needs of the riding public.
The body also passed a resolution (Resolution 456- 2017) in December 2017 informing Senator Grace L. Poe, then Chairperson of the Committee on Public Services, and Congressman Cesar
Sarmiento, then Chairperson on Transportation of Seventeenth Congress, about the plight of jeepney operators and drivers in the city and also informing the same about the city government’s support on the stand of the drivers and operators.
Resolution 457-2017 outlined certain points regarding the PUV modernization program. One of the points was the inability of jeepney drivers to earn and, subsequently, pay for the daily boundary as the jeepney operators would likewise need to increase the boundary to overcome the cost of the new jeepney
unit.
“These resolutions clearly state that Baguio City does support the PUV Modernization Program that allows PUJ phase-out,” the letter added. The transport groups, however, claimed that the city government has now started implementing plans in support of the PUV Modernization program as specified in the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG).
The group mentioned the relocation of some jeepney loading and staging areas as part of the Route Rationalization Plan, the city government’s memorandum of agreement with SquidPay for cashless transactions, and the inspection of the 50 sample modernized vehicles that will soon be plying the Baguio Plaza-Aurora Hill and Baguio Plaza-Trancoville routes. They claimed all of these are in preparation for the PUV modernization program.
The groups also argued that these proposed modernized jeepneys cannot withstand the city’s mountainous terrain.
The petition letter was forwarded to the Sanggunian’s Committee on Public Utilities, Transportation, and Traffic Legislation chaired by Councilor Benny Bomogao for information and appropriate action.
Jordan G. Habbiling/ABN