The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) should allow withdrawal from franchise consolidation, especially for those only forced to consolidate, transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) demanded. 

These demands ultimately boil down to the call to restore operators’ five-year individual franchises, especially since consolidation has been shown to further threaten the financial stability of those who have already entered cooperatives or corporations. 

The consolidation deadline is currently set on April 30, after which unconsolidated units can no longer ply their routes.

“Ang iskema sa pag-withdraw ng mga operator, kailangan massive ito, upang sama-sama pa rin sa pagkilos ang pagtugon sa panawagan,” PISTON Deputy Secretary-General Ruben Baylon told the Collegian.

Withdrawal Complications 

Currently, only operators who are part of a transport cooperative or corporation who have pending papers and do not yet have a franchise can withdraw from the consolidated entity, per LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2024-001. 

But these narrow criteria allow only a small portion of operators the chance to withdraw.

“Wala talagang intention ang gobyerno na resolbahin ang krisis sa transport kundi pagkakitaan lang ang public transport system sa ating bansa. Nagagawa nila ito sa pamamagitan ng paglalabas ng memorandum circular,” said Baylon.

Those able to withdraw, on the other hand, are then impeded by massive requirements. For example, some operators’ franchises are still owned by a past entity. In these cases, operators must first go through the LTFRB Public Transport Online Processing System, further prolonging the withdrawal process.

Operators are still pushing through with their withdrawal applications despite these hindrances. Otherwise, they would have to surrender to the cooperative or corporation their franchise, leaving its management to the entity. 

PISTON instead maintains its call to revive the option for a five-year individual franchise, as this would grant operators greater autonomy over their livelihood.

But it is only if the jeepneys consolidated first that the LTFRB would even start considering a five-year provision for consolidated franchises, LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said in November 2023. 

“Kung hindi sila mag-file ng application for withdrawal of consolidation ay ito na ang pag surrender ng prangkisa sa cooperative or corporation. Ito ang unang hakbang para mawalan ka ng prankisa … at mabaon sa utang,” said Baylon.

Consolidation Burdens 

LTFRB is still pushing through with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program’s (PUVMP) consolidation requirements, despite multiple deadline extensions that transport groups said fail to address demands for better financial support.  

The latest extension came after a huge number of routes failed to consolidate by the previous January 31 deadline. As of December 31, 2023, less than a third of Metro Manila routes are more than 60-percent consolidated. 

“Malapit na namang mag-deadline. Kitang-kita natin na wala namang pag-unlad na naganap sa kabuhayan ng mga tsuper at operator dahil sa pagpupumilit ng gobyerno sa consolidation,” said PISTON in a statement.

Once consolidated, operators are expected to pool their funds to purchase modern jeepneys, which can cost up to P2.8 million. Though subsidies have already been promised by the Department of Transportation, Baylon said these are not enough to ease the cost of loans with their meager earnings and the rising price of oil.

Thirty-eight cooperatives were even reported by the Landbank of the Philippines and Developmental Bank of the Philippines to have been overdue on their loans in January, highlighting the financial burden posed by the PUVMP. 

“Ang driver at operator sa kasalukuyan ay di mapanatag ang kaisipan dahil sa walang linaw ang PUVMP at kung after April 30 ay may hanapbuhay pa kaya sila,” said Baylon. ●