A Betrayal on Wheels

The road to modernization is paved with broken promises. For the Filipino commuter caught in the daily gridlock, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) has become a symbol of chaos, not progress.

But for the transport cooperatives that trusted the government’s vision, it has become a fast track to bankruptcy. The persistent “dilly-dallying” by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has turned a well-intentioned policy into a catastrophic failure, and it is the public that ultimately pays the price.

The government’s primary sin is its betrayal of the program’s early adopters. Cooperatives like the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC) heeded the call to modernize, taking on immense debt to purchase new units. In return for their compliance, they were promised a level playing field.

Instead, they got a policy limbo.

The deadline for franchise consolidation, once set for December 31, 2023, was pushed to April 2024, and then again to November 2024. As one WVTC leader pointed out, this indecisiveness forces modernized fleets to compete unfairly with the very traditional jeepneys they were meant to replace, making it impossible to meet their financial obligations. The government is rewarding non-compliance while punishing those who followed the rules.

At its core, the PUVMP was built on faulty math. The program expects operators to purchase units costing between PHP 1.6 million and PHP 2.8 million with a government subsidy that tops out at a meager PHP 280,000. Subsidy this is not, but a token gesture that forces cooperatives into financially crippling loans. The monthly payments are unsustainable on current fare structures, a fact that transport groups have warned about from the beginning.

To proceed without addressing this fundamental economic flaw is to knowingly push operators off a financial cliff. Extending the deadline is a futile attempt to manage a crisis that was created by the program’s own design. The only solution is to admit the model is broken and overhaul it completely.

The government must stop the cycle of indecision. The DOTr needs to make a firm, final stand: either commit to modernization with a subsidy that reflects reality – WVTC suggested up to PHP 1 million per unit – and clear the roads of non-compliant vehicles, or suspend the program entirely to redesign a viable financial model.

Anything less is an admission of failure. The current path is unsustainable for operators, unfair to drivers losing their livelihoods, and a profound disservice to the millions of commuters who deserve a transport system that is reliable, safe, and just.

The dilly-dallying must end now.