A PROGRESSIVE youth group criticized the Davao Bus Project (DBP), the key component of the city’s Public Transport Modernization Project, calling it “bogus and anti-people.”
Anakbayan Southern Mindanao Region (SMR) held a picket rally on Monday, November 24, at Freedom Park, denouncing the planned phaseout of jeepneys in favor of modern buses.
“Dakong hasol ug pabug-at sa katawhan! Mamahimong palas-anon sa mga drayber ug komyuter ang pag-implementar sa Davao Bus Project (A huge burden and inconvenience for the people! Implementing the Davao Bus Project will weigh heavily on drivers and commuters),” Anakbayan SMR Chairperson Fauzhea Guiani said.
Guiani said the project will affect more than 7,000 public utility vehicle drivers, potentially raising fares to ₱35 and threatening their livelihoods.
Last October, 10 modern buses imported from China arrived in the city for the project’s pre-implementation phase. They were expected to offer free rides during peak hours by mid-November, but have yet to start operations.
Guiani criticized the trial run, calling it a “mind-conditioning” exercise designed to force public acceptance.
"₱10 million ang kantidad sa kada usa ka bus, kwarta nga unta igahin para sa batakang panginahanglanon sa mga Dabawenyo. Dili makatarunganon ang dako nga gasto sa lokal nga pang gobyerno, labi na ang ₱54 billion nga loan sa Asian Development Bank nga palas-anon sa katawhan (Each bus costs ₱10 million—money that should go to basic needs. The spending, especially the ₱54-billion loan from the Asian Development Bank, will burden the people),” she said.
Guiani argued the DBP does not address the city’s root transportation problems and called instead for the rehabilitation of existing public utility vehicles and reinstatement of the five-year franchise validity. She clarified that Anakbayan supports modernization, but not projects that favor corporations and a privileged few.
The city government has yet to respond to the group’s statements.
Funding shortfall
Atty. Dwight Domingo, assistant city administrator and DBP project manager, said funding for 2026 falls far short of what was requested. The project sought ₱14 billion to ₱17 billion, but only ₱2 billion made it into the budget proposal submitted to Congress.
“Officially ang gi-submit karon sa Department of Budget and Management padulong didtos Congress wala ra kaabot ug P2 billion (The budget submitted to the Department of Budget and Management and forwarded to Congress did not even reach ₱2 billion),” Domingo said in an interview with Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR) on October 27.
Despite the shortfall, he said, allocations remain for the project, and Congress may approve additional funding. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) confirmed the project remains on track, with right-of-way acquisitions ongoing and operations targeted for 2027.
The ₱76-billion initiative aims to create a 672-kilometer integrated bus network with five depots, three terminals, a driver training academy, 1,074 stops, and a fleet of 380 electric and 720 Euro-V diesel buses. The system will feature intelligent transport technology and automated fare collection, co-financed by the Asian Development Bank, the national government, and the City Government of Davao, which will contribute around ₱20 billion.
Originally slated for partial rollout by late 2024 and full operations by 2025, the timeline has been pushed back to 2027 due to right-of-way delays and post-pandemic adjustments. RGL