Hasty, rushed and ill-prepared.
Those three words sum up the current situation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) in Laguna province.
More than a month after the final deadline of the “consolidation” of public transport franchises under the PUVMP, a series of interviews OpinYon Laguna made with local officials in the province highlighted how local governments, as well as public transport operators, continue to be “left in the dark” regarding the implementation of the program meant to modernize public transportation here in the Philippines.
No local plan
One sign that LGUs in Laguna province are still reluctant (or ignorant?) of the PUVMP program is the fact that almost no LGU in the province have submitted a Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Under the LPTRP, LGUs are required to craft a route plan detailing intra-city or intra-town PUV routes (either “rationalizing” the current routes or developing new ones), with specific modes of transportation and required number of units per mode assigned to the routes. This, in turn, will be the basis of the LTFRB in issuing new PUV franchises.
A check with the LTFRB’s website showed that so far, only the town of Kalayaan has formally passed an ordinance adopting an LPTRP and submitted the same to the LTFRB.
Playing catch-up?
Moreover, when asked about the LGU’s plans to create an LPTRP in their constituencies, it has become clear that most LGUs in Laguna province are now only “catching up” on the creation of a local transport plan.
This, despite the fact that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has formally crafted a manual for LGUs way back in 2017 on how to implement the LPTRP.
“Nakapagbuo na po ngayong taon si [San Pedro City] Mayor Art Mercado ng isang board na siya namang tututok sa pagfo-formulate ng route plan para sa lungsod ng San Pedro,” Giovanni Martinez, head of the Public Order and Safety Office (POSO), told OpinYon Laguna.
Unconsolidated drivers’ plight
In Biñan City, on the other hand, a group of drivers and operators who had failed to meet the deadline for consolidation have appealed for help with the local government, city officials told OpinYon Laguna.
In an interview, Ron Roscain, head of the Biñan City Community Affairs Office (CCAO), reported that this group of 90 drivers plying the Biñan-Timbao route (an intracity route, which falls under the LRTRP) have asked for help with the local government after the April 30 deadline, as most of their members have failed to meet the deadline for consolidation.
“Ang sinabi po sa amin ng LTFRB, mas maganda po kung susulat ang ating Kongresista na si Len Alonte sa national government, specifically kay Transportation Secretary [Jaime] Bautista, at may tsansang ma-grant ang apela nila,” Roscain reported.
According to the recent “Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas” forum in Batangas City, which was participated by the DOTr, a total of 21,820 PUV units traversing 533 routes have been consolidated into a single entity, comprising 82 percent of the total units in the region, as of April 30.
For jeepneys, a total of 20,754 units and 443 routes have already undergone consolidation.
As per Resolution 053 Series of 2024, the LTFRB has also allowed individual operators for 216 routes in Calabarzon with less than 15 authorized units to continue operations, subject to the eventual approval of the LPTRPs under such routes.
Traditional jeepneys to stay?
There are also signs that the national government is finally recognizing the fact that most jeepney cooperatives cannot still afford the modern PUVs that were offered to them as part of the PUVMP, as Roscain reported to OpinYon Laguna.
“Ang nangyayari ngayon, kahit traditional [jeepneys] pinapayagan na as long as Euro IV or Euro V emission-compliant,” he related. “Isipin mo naman, inaayawan kasi ng mga kooperatiba yung mga bagong PUV kasi umaabot ng P3 million, and yung pag-aayos sa makina mo para maging Euro IV compliant would cost less [than buying a new unit].”
Meanwhile, a local legislator has also called for the protection and preservation of the traditional jeepney in Laguna province.
In a social media post last June 3, Laguna 2nd District Board Member Christian Niño Lajara said he has filed a bill at the provincial board to preserve a symbol of Filipino culture.
"Ang Filipino jeepney, na kilala sa makukulay na disenyo at natatanging estruktura, ay isang simbolo ng kultura, sining, at kasaysayan ng ating bansa... Subalit, sa ilalim ng Jeepney Modernization Act, tila nakaligtaan ng ating mga mambabatas na tiyakin sa batas ang pagpapanatili ng tradisyunal na disenyo ng jeepney. Ang modernisasyon ay mahalaga para sa kaligtasan at kalikasan, ngunit hindi ito dapat maging dahilan upang mawala ang makulay na bahagi ng ating kasaysayan at kultura," he stressed.
Rather than dispensing entirely with the traditional look of jeepneys as envisioned by the PUVMP, Lajara urged for the incorporation of modern technology into traditional jeepneys without sacrificing their unique identity.
“Sa pagpasa ng ordinansang ito, inaasahang mapoprotektahan at mapapanatili ang isang mahalagang simbolo ng ating pagka-Pilipino,” he said.
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