Traditional jeepney operators in Panay to join transport strike

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Traditional jeepney drivers and operators in Panay Island on Monday said they will join a transport strike on July 24 to 26, 2023 in opposition to the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) of the national government.

The group “No To PUV Phaseout Coalition” held a press conference in Oton, Iloilo to counter what they called “lies” from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and other transport operators using ‘modernized’ minibuses.

A position paper distributed during the press conference outlined their 7-point call:

-stopping franchise consolidation;

-reinstating 5-year franchises;

-returning sale and transfer processes to operators;

-repealing the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP);

-suspend penalties for late filing;

-financial support for vehicular maintenance; and

-development of the country’s own jeepney industry.

They estimate that 60 percent of traditional jeepney drivers and operators in Aklan, Antique, Iloilo, and Guimaras provinces would be expected to join, sans cooperatives operating minibus units.

The coalition’s president, Warren Gangoso, lamented the lack of outreach to their group, citing a recent memorandum by the LTFRB-Region 6 (LTFRB-6) to transport cooperatives which set a dialogue on the PUVMP on July 18.

He shared that on July 4, the group, together with Mar Valbuena, national president of the transport group Manibela, personally approached the LTFRB with the aim of having such dialogue.

Transport operator Erdito Castillo from the Aleosan (Alimodian-Leon-San Miguel) area said that smaller operators and drivers in Iloilo and across the region still aren’t fully aware of what the PUVMP entails.

He said that the national government does not foresee the effect that the PUVMP might bring on ordinary laborers and fisherfolk, who might not be allowed to carry materials in minibuses.

“It’s difficult for us to have to swallow [the PUVMP] that many of us members [of transport groups] don’t even fully understand. We join the desire of the national [Manibela] in opposing [the PUVMP],” Castillo said.

“We know that if the traditional jeepneys disappear, it’s not just those who can carry through life who would be burdened, but mostly those at the bottom—students, laborers, fisherfolk, and almost every member of society,” he added.

Raphael Alla of the Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of Oton refuted the national government’s rationale for safety issues with traditional jeepneys, saying that it could be easily remedied and that they could opt to set standards with traditional jeepney manufacturers, including those situated in Iloilo.

Elmer Forro of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Panay reiterated their long-held position that the PUVMP affects the public at most, as mass transport commuters.

As to LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III’s threat of revoking traditional jeepney operators’ franchises, he said that there was no such franchise to revoke.

“The issue of the No To PUV Phaseout [coalition] is the people’s issue, not just of drivers and operators. Since 2017 we have already been here against the phaseout. That is why we cannot be fazed by the LTFRB and the cooperative leaders,” Forro said.

LTFRB-Region 6 spokesperson Salvador Altura Jr. told Daily Guardian that they have yet to release an official statement on the matter.

Transport groups Manibela and Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) announced on July 12 that they would be holding a nationwide transport strike against the PUVMP to coincide with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address on the 24th.