SOME senators are worried about the upcoming deadline for the PUV consolidation.
Because come April 30 – the three-month grace period or extension will be over.
This means PUV drivers and operators need to form cooperatives or corporations to continue operating.
But even as the deadline approaches, there are still issues regarding PUV consolidation that lawmakers say haven’t been resolved.
“But we want to know how productive the three-month extension has been. Have there been fruitful dialogues between the LTFRB and transport groups? Were there substantial efforts to reach out to the drivers and operators to help them get into the program?” said Sen. Grace Poe.
For Senator Grace Poe, it’s important that drivers and operators are onboard with the program since they’re the ones primarily affected by it.
Poe also hopes that the list of PUV routes will be released to keep the public informed on which PUV and what route they should take.
“We can’t just leave our commuters scampering for rides, especially under this extreme heat,” Poe added.
Senator Imee Marcos still sees a major debate among operators on where to get the budget to buy modern jeeps.
“They’re given 160-180 thousand, but here’s the problem, the Euro Level 4 standard they’re imposing is at 2.5 million Euros, so it’s really difficult,” stated Sen. Imee Marcos.
Imee also regrets that the government hasn’t initiated a trade-in value for old vehicles.
Despite the government’s announcement that many drivers and operators are already members of Coops, the senator is not convinced.
According to Imee, not all drivers and operators understand how their livelihood will work if they join a group.
“But we know that all drivers and operators of habal-habal jeeps don’t want to join a cooperative. Their understanding is that their former business, where they were owners or entrepreneurs, will just make them employees in the cooperative. The cooperative has no responsibility if they can’t pay their debts,” added Sen. Imee.
PUV consolidation is part of the PUV modernization program that has gone through the Aquino, Duterte, and now Marcos administrations.
PUV drivers or operators who fail to comply with consolidation will automatically have their licenses revoked and will no longer be allowed to operate.
The deadline for consolidation was initially set on December 31, 2023, but it was postponed by PBBM following the recommendation of the Department of Transportation to extend it until April this year, 2024.
PBBM already declared that there will be no more extensions for the deadline.
