NO ENTRY Antiriot police block the protest caravan of Manibela and Piston, transport groups who have gone to the Supreme Court to question the legality of the government鈥檚 modernization program for public utility vehicles (PUVs) on Espa帽a Boulevard, Manila. PUVs not yet consolidated into cooperatives or corporations will be deemed illegal after Jan. 31.鈥� RICHARD A. REYES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The livelihood programs offered to transport workers who have not consolidated as part of the government鈥檚 Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) are an admission that the program is ill-implemented, transport group Piston said on Monday.
Piston, citing data released by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), said that 395 jeepney and 108 UV Express routes in the National Capital Region have no consolidated units.
This translates to thousands of drivers potentially losing jobs following the ban on unconsolidated public utility vehicle (PUV) units starting February 1.
鈥淟ibo-libo pa ring tsuper at operator ang mawawalan ng kabuhayan kapag hindi nila inalis ang deadline,鈥� Piston鈥檚 President Mody Floranda said in a statement.
(Thousands of drivers and operators will lose their livelihoods if they do not remove the deadline.)
In addition to the routes without consolidated units, there are 337 jeepney routes and 68 UV Express routes in Metro Manila with less than 60 percent consolidation rate, as shown by LTFRB.
But the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has remained firm that starting next month, unconsolidated PUVs will be tagged as 鈥渃olorum鈥� and will be apprehended.
鈥淚mbis na ihinto ang programa para walang maapektuhan, nagkukumahog pa maghanap ng pondo para sa sa ayuda 鈥榙iumano at para sa mga impounding. Eh 鈥榙i aminado silang pumapalpak sila,鈥� Floranda stressed.
(Instead of stopping the program so no one will be affected, they have been scrambling to raise funds for aid and impounding. So they are admitting that they are failing.)
Piston鈥檚 President was referring to the Department of Labor and Employment鈥檚 (DOLE) 鈥渆nTSUPERneur鈥� initiative, which aims to teach 鈥渋nterested鈥� transport workers different skills, including animal raising and entrepreneurship.
READ: DOLE livelihood program to aid 1,500 transport workers affected by PUVMP
DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the initiative is already set to benefit 1,500 transport workers.
In a previous interview with Inquirer.net, Floranda stressed that the transport workers affected by the PUVMP do not wish to switch professions but instead retain their current livelihood.
He also noted that government aid can only go so far, and a better approach would be to think of ways to protect the jobs of thousands of drivers and operators.
As the new cutoff point approaches in February, Piston also urged the Supreme Court to intervene in the PUVMP anew.
According to the LTFRB, the PUVMP aims to upgrade the country鈥檚 land transportation system, as it will replace traditional PUVs with modern minibuses fitted with 鈥渆nvironment-friendly鈥� engines, CCTVs, and automatic fare collection systems, among others.