ILOILO – Traditional jeepneys were given until June 30, 2023 only to operate unless they join or create a transport cooperative or corporation.
A seven-page Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2023-013 issued on Monday, Feb. 20, by Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) secretary Teofilo Guadiz III gave individual traditional jeepneys’ franchises three more months of extension from the original deadline of March.
“Individual operators may continue to operate by virtue of a provisional authority (PA), which is automatically extended until June 30, 2023,” read part of the memorandum.
After June 30, “only those individual operators who were able to join an existing consolidated entity on or before June 30, 2023, shall be allowed to have their PA extended until December 31, 2023.”
It added: “The consolidated entity where the individual operator joined shall file an amended application for franchise consolidation until June 30, 2023, to include the new member with a prayer for the issuance of PA with the Technical Division or Receiving Section of the Regional Franchising and Regulatory Board.”
The Certificate of Public Conveyance (CPC) of the individual operators who fail to join the existing consolidated entity after June 30, 2023, shall be reverted to the state.
In a statement, the LTFRB also clarified that cooperatives and corporations must be accredited by the Office of the Transport Cooperative (OTC) or seek registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Aug. 31 of this year.
It added that new transport cooperatives and corporations must file an application for franchise consolidation by Oct. 31 of this year for their provisional authority to be extended.
To recall, based on a memorandum in 2022, all traditional jeepney franchises, either with provisional authority or special permits, will expire on March 31, 2023.
Panay News yesterday reached out to LTFRB-6 legal counsel, Atty. Salvador Altura.
“We intend to make a statement to be provided to all media outlets when I return to the office (from Manila),” read his t ext message.
Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC) president Raymundo Parcon said a three-month extension is not enough for all individual traditional jeepney units in Western Visayas to consolidate.
He added that with such a short extension, traditional jeepneys with plate numbers ending in 1 and 2 could no longer operate. They could not renew their Certificate of Registration (CR) because of an existing Land Transportation Office (LTO) policy on franchises shorter than six months.
“Ang LTO gid nagahambal nga dapat before six months ang amon franchise para i-renew nila ang amon OR/CR. Ti, kon three months indi gid na puede,” Parcon told Panay News.
Parcon received a copy of the new MC yesterday morning.
He warned of a shortage of modernized jeepney units.
The WVTC is pressing for a December 2023 deadline for traditional jeepneys to consolidate, especially individual operators who are not in any transport cooperative.
“Siguro ang ayo naton is until December ang extension kay karon kon three months lang daw indi gid ‘guro kay, ti, imagine mo wala ta pa ma-fully modernized,” Parcon said.
The WVTC president disclosed that not all 533 modernized jeepneys they ordered from Metro Manila would arrive by June 2023. Only an additional 95 units will be delivered by the end of this month.
“Dapat si LTO kag LTFRB magpungko para ma-istoryahan nila kon ano mahimu sa (plate numbers) ending 1 and 2 kay iban nga operators naga-suffer na sang pila ka bulan nga waay sang biyahe,” said Parcon, adding that he would seek clarification from LTFRB-6 if the deadline could be remedied./PN
