Members of the transport group PISTON remained hopeful Sunday that President Marcos would recall the Dec. 31 deadline for public utility jeepneys to consolidate, even as the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said there will be no extension of it.
Piston president Mody Floranda, in an interview with TeleRadyo Serbisyo, said the group is hoping the President “reverses” the previous decision.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) earlier issued a memorandum saying traditional jeepneys that fail to consolidate their franchises will still be allowed until Jan. 31, 2024 to ply routes where less than 60 percent of units are consolidated.
But DOTr Office of Transportation Cooperatives chairman Andy Ortega clarified that the new memo was not an extension of the Dec. 31 consolidation deadline, adding that the memo was meant to give jeepney owners “due process.”
The official, quoted by ABS-CBN News, also reported that almost all jeepneys in “major routes” in Metro Manila have already consolidated.
As this developed, a Social Welfare official said jeepney drivers who will be affected by the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) may avail of cash assistance through the department’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.
“It is possible that they can avail of AICS since they can be categorized as in crisis,” DSWD Program Management Bureau Director Miramel Laxa said.
AICS serves as a stop-gap measure by providing immediate and temporary cash aid to individuals and families who are undergoing crisis based on the assessment of social workers.
“Availing of AICS can help them meet their basic needs through different forms of assistance such as food, and cash aid, among others,” Laxa said.
The LTFRB earlier said two in three jeepneys in Metro Manila have yet to consolidate into cooperatives before the deadline on Sunday, even as the government downplayed the possibility of a transport crisis.
“In major thoroughfares in Metro Manila, those who applied for those routes have already consolidated, so we can say that we could meet public demand for public transport come January,” said Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) chairman Andy Ortega.
LTFRB data showed that as of Dec. 29, less than 14,000 or only 33.21 percent of jeepneys in Metro Manila have consolidated into cooperatives.
The number, however, is already an improvement from the 26 percent consolidation rate recorded in November, LTFRB National Capital Region Director Zona Tamayo
Tamayo said there are about 3,259 consolidated UV Express units, accounting for 44.3 percent of the total UV Express units plying various routes in the National Capital Region.
The LTFRB earlier allowed non-consolidated jeeps to operate until Jan. 31, 2024 on routes where there are only 60 percent or fewer consolidated jeeps.
The unconsolidated jeepneys, however, will still have their provisional authority or franchise revoked after Dec. 31, 2023.