Members of the transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) filed a petition before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Wednesday to withdraw the consolidation of the franchises of public utility jeepneys (PUJ) under the government’s PUV modernization program.
PISTON Deputy Secretary General Bong Baylon led the group in filing their withdrawal petition asking the LTFRB to give back their franchises.
Baylon, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said they discovered jeepney cooperatives or corporations that are not legitimate and not capable of managing the fleet.
“That’s what we don’t like, we will loose our rights as an operator, we will lose our rights as a stakeholder of the franchise,” Baylon said.
According to PISTON, 75 jeepney operators signed the withdrawal petition.
Dexter Laurente, a jeepney operator who joined the petition, as one of those hoping to have his franchise back.
Like other single jeepney operators who consolidated their franchises in December 2023, Laurente said he was forced to consolidate his own franchise because of the previous deadline set by the government for fear of loosing his unit and livelihood.
The deadline had been moved several times before the Dec. 31, 2023 date was set. But President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave them until April 30, 2024 to apply for consolidation under the government’s PUV- modernization program.
The government’s PUVMP was launched in 2017, mandating PUV operators and drivers to form transport cooperatives or corporations which the government said could help them to get access to financial assistance needed to purchase modern jeepney or euro-4 complaint vehicles.