By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
LET’S be candid.
There are serious problems confronting the full implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), popularly known as the Jeepney Modernization Act (JMA), in Bacolod City. ‘Twas recently met with the so-called “suburban angst” and “public palpitation”.
Thousands of operators and drivers of traditional jeepneys in Bacolod staged a protest last week, nixing the program as “anti-poor” and with a shortsighted and biased trajectory.
Besides, what’ll happen to their old jeepneys? Will the government pay for those to be weeded out?
They contended that many of them will be displaced by JMA. Not all of the total approved number of modern jeeps in the city can absorb them. Quite a serious projection, hence. And if this happens soonest, thousands of families in the “City of Smiles” will suffer from hunger.
No joke, indeed! Such facts prompted the city government to meddle with the hitch.
Following Nov. 7’s street upheaval, Mayor Albee Benitez thru Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran was obligated to cast a speedy appeal to both Land Transportation Office (LTO) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory (LTRF) to defer the apprehension of traditional jeepneys without provisional authority (PA) or franchise. The request was granted.
But LTFRB Region 6 is “itching” to fully implement the JMA after the two-week reprieve. It asked Bacolod traditional jeepney operators and drivers to join transport cooperatives. They only have until March of 2023 to do so.
But public resistance against JMA remains high. Sans further ado, it’s now a “headache” for Bacolod execs. City officials need to weigh in serious considerations to know which is relatively significant: JMA or the politics of the belly?
NOBLE BUT UNBEARABLE
JMA’s listed goal(s) are noble – to mitigate air pollution, provide safety and comfort to commuters, ensure reliable travel time, and fare regulation.
But for most, JMA’s unbearable! Why?
Launched in 2017, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) earmarked P2.2 billion for JMA.
Question: Where’s this P2.2 billion now?
Well, JMA’s first task: implement a crackdown against 15-year-old and above or dilapidated jeepneys. Then, enter the modern-slash-air-conditioned jeeps.
Operators and drivers, however, must form or join a cooperative before availing of modern units.
Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) was tasked to grant loans to transport coops for the purchase of modern jeeps. Each modern jeep, per LBP estimate, costs P1.4 million to P1.6 million payable for seven years at P40,000/monthly amortization.
The high cost per unit is one of the two projected “blind sides” of JMA. The other one is the possible “domino” effect: scary fare hike.
So, per day, the driver must secure P7,000 for unit rental alone, excluding his “take home” pay – quite an “uphill” to earn every day, chorused by the operators and drivers.
As to the franchise issue, LTFRB, under JMA, will only cater for the transport cooperatives.
Meanwhile, the local government units’ (LGUs) roles in JMA included the following:
* identification and approval of the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP)
* determine the number of units of modernized jeeps per approved route
In Bacolod, both had been done already. But the impacts of the implementation were somehow miscalculated.
With more than 3,000 operators and drivers of traditional jeepneys in Bacolod, more than 1,000 only will be absorbed as drivers and conductors by the approved transport cooperatives in the city for modern jeeps.
The problem is, how about the more than 2,000 who’ll be displaced?
So, the “politics of the belly” – a tedious or complicated thing to address, – will surely come in.
Thus, lamented VM El Cid, “Probably, wala gid matun-an sang maayo ang programa at the expense of thousands of operators and drivers.”
Hence, three local transport groups in the city are now rooting for city officials to help them.
“We’ll see what solutions they’re offering,” Albert Villanueva, Negros chairman of Sentro Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators, verbalized.
STREET CHAOS
LTFRB in Western Visayas already granted 1,099 units of modern jeeps in Bacolod for a total of 24 approved routes per the city’s LTPRP. But there’s still insufficient.
At present, Bacolod has only 173 modern jeeps. Others are yet to be delivered.
However, LTFRB already allowed 726 jeeps to legally operate in the city.
These will be a combination of 173 modern jeeps and 553 traditional ones whose franchise have yet to expire.
But if figures will be the same after the two-week reprieve on Nov. 29 and onwards, “street chaos” in Bacolod is much anticipated.
The scenario: Less jeeps, more passengers. Many will be stranded.
“Kon amo sini ang scenario, indi malayo nga maga-collapse ang aton ekonomiya,” VM El Cid warned.
“Kon wala o kulang transportasyon, ang mga empleyado sang gobyerno kag bisan pa ang sa mga pribado nga opisina indi makakadto sa ila obra. Ang iban nga pumuluyo indi maka-kadto sa ila kaladtuan, so,budlay ini kon iga-fully implement sang LTFRB ang JMA,” he added.
Looking at the flow chart of JMA, the DOTr is the lead implementing agency. Then, it’ll pass the baton to LTFRB, to LTO, to the Department of Interior and Local Government, and to LGUs as final stop via LPTRP.
Hence, the LGU concerned will serve as a “shock absorber” of the operators’ and drivers’ “angst and palpitation” against the program.
Pathetic!
Question: Is there a win-win solution in the offing?/PN
