A CEBU transport leader urged lawmakers to take government projects seriously amid plans to file a resolution urging the president to suspend the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Ellen Maghanoy, chairperson of the Federation of Cebu Transport Cooperatives (FCTC) said she is disappointed with the recent pronouncements from the national government.
“It’s just disappointing. They plan to stop the PUVMP, which we are at 90 percent in consolidation; it’s ongoing and the momentum is there. Then, they will suddenly stop it, meaning what do they want to happen to those who have already consolidated, formed a cooperative, and started their operations, what do they want to happen? That remains a big question to us,” Maghanoy said in Cebuano in a phone interview on Wednesday, July 24, 2024.
During the Senate Committee on Public Services hearing on July 23, 2024, Senator Raffy Tulfo acknowledged public calls to halt the PUVMP due to corruption concerns involving jeepney operators and drivers.
He also said he plans to propose a resolution to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Senate President Francis Escudero suggested drafting a resolution to suspend the program until all concerns are addressed, particularly regarding the P2.5 million purchase of new jeepneys and government support for drivers and operators.
The PUVMP, based on the Land Transportation Office website, is a comprehensive reform program of the national government that aims to transform the traditional jeepneys and other public utility vehicles, and “effectively address existing issues on safety, efficiency and environmental impact.”
Its components include fleet modernization, local public transport route planning, and financing PUV modernization.
Maghanoy said the impending plans of some lawmakers is a big challenge for them. Instead of suspending the PUVMP, she calls for lawmakers to rectify the program if there is something that should be amended.
“That’s the big challenge for us because the government should take their law seriously; they seem to be coming back and forth, as if it’s like trial and error, in the beginning, they were the ones who forced it, they were the ones who made this program, we were just forced to follow. Then now that we have complied that we have built it, we have spent it, they will suddenly stop it,” expressed Maghanoy.
The FCTC includes some members cooperatives such as Lahug Apas Transport Cooperative, Kalunasan Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative, Banawa Transport Cooperative, and Mabolo Transport Cooperative.
With over 80 cooperatives all over the region, Maghanoy said this behavior shown in the senate is disheartening as the modern transport community is freshly introduced to the drivers and commuters.
“They should not issue a statement that it’s easy to suspend the program, it is not that easy to form a cooperative. Instead, we have slowly built unity with drivers who were not so supportive before, but now all of a sudden it’s gone, we are now increasing in the region, we have more than 80 cooperatives,” said Maghanoy.
Maghanoy explained that for a driver to operate a modern jeepney, a group or a cooperative is formed since the modern jeepney is expensive compared to the traditional one, that is why each member will provide capital to set up to form cooperatives, ‘because it’s a cooperative, they will help with the expenses, fees, permits, legalities’.
According to a SunStar Cebu report last Jan. 6, an imported modern PUV costs P2 million to P3 million or more, depending on the model, size, and brand. / CDF