For the third time, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended the deadline for jeepney operators to consolidate until April 30 as part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP). For the third time, too, his administration remains blind to the fact that while the extension allows unconsolidated operators and drivers to earn for the moment, the threat to their livelihood remains.
Transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), which had been at the forefront of the transport strikes since last year, welcomed the extension but insisted that the protests are not over until a just transition to a humane modernization program is in place.
The new deadline not only reverses the earlier statement from Malacañang that there will be no more extension, but also serves as an admission of a policy failure. PUVMP, as it stands, appears to be a poorly drawn project as there is no actual plan beyond the phaseout of traditional jeepneys. This truth is underlined by Marcos flip-flopping with his directive and being forced to extend the deadline.
Beyond the consolidation crusade, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) does not have a final plan on how the streets will work with modern jeepneys. The discussion from their end remains on the defensive, instead of ensuring that the public and environment–as they claim–will actually benefit from the PUVMP.
DOTr argued that a consolidated franchise organizes the streets better, but that is already being done now through jeepney operators and drivers’ associations. The only difference with PUVMP is that large companies with the capital to buy expensive modern units will get to siphon money from the labor of drivers.
In an attempt to hide this scheme, the government now shifts the narrative to supporting local manufacturing industries such as eFrancisco Motor Corporation and Sarao Jeepneys. But in truth, these large companies sell their products at the same price of P2.5 million per unit as foreign businesses. While these industries would support the local economy in some form, they would still have to rely on the importation of foreign parts to meet street demands.
This shows that not only is PUVMP poorly drawn, but that money-making of private companies is its primary goal.
Forcing transport workers to consolidate tramples on their right to freely organize while rendering the validity of their own associations. Under this system, they undergo involuntary servitude just to afford their jeepney units and make ends meet.
In the face of stagnant minimum wage and transport crisis, PUVMP becomes a concern for passengers and workers behind the wheel.
PISTON and other transport groups have asked the Supreme Court to junk the PUVMP. While it is undeniable that the case will be fought tooth and nail, as the court is filled with appointees of former President Rodrigo Duterte, it is equally undeniable that PUVMP will bring problems that are now unraveling.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives now see how PUVMP will hurt both transport workers and commuters. After multiple transport strikes and marches, they must listen to the clamors in the streets. Because to set another deadline is to prolong the pain PUVMP will eventually cause.
It is not the date of the deadline that causes the noise on the streets, it is the anti-people modernization crusade. The protests will not stop until the government does what is demanded. ●
