BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has started issuing show cause orders to Western Visayas jeepney operators who did not consolidate under the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
The consolidation ended on April 30.
Lawyer Salvador Altura Jr., LTFRB Region 6 officer-in-charge, confirmed to Panay News that they have issued about 400 show cause orders.
The agency intends to summon some 4,000 operators of unconsolidated jeepneys in Region 6.
But Altura admitted the process would be tedious considering the difficulty in locating unconsolidated jeepney operators.
Some operators may also contest the show cause order by filing a case, which would further delay the proceedings, said Altura.
For his part, lawyer Gaudioso Geduspan II, assistant director of the Land Transportation Office in Region 6, said they have deferred running after unconsolidated jeepneys.
“We will wait for the LTFRB to finish the issuance of the show cause order. Meanwhile, our enforcers will continue their operations against unregistered or colorum vehicles,” said Geduspan.
In the summons, unconsolidated jeepney operators were ordered to “explain in writing” why their certificate of public convenience (CPC) should not be revoked or canceled for failure to comply with the directive of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to consolidate into transport cooperatives or corporations.
The jeepney operators are then required to appear in a hearing before LTFRB-6.
“Failure on the part of the respondent operator to appear shall be considered as waiver on his part to be heard and this case shall be resolved based on documents presented to this office,” the order read.
As one of the 10 components of the modernization program, consolidation will allow juridical entities such as these transport corporations and cooperatives access to fresh capital needed to buy modern jeepneys estimated at P2.8 million per unit.
State-owned Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) received P2.2 billion from the national budget during the term of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
The banks set the above funds as loan facilities for qualified transport entities as subsidies for “PUV owners when applying for loans to replace old public utility jeepneys with more efficient PUVs.”
Through consolidation, the LTFRB stressed that PUV units would be allocated equally to rationalized routes to prevent competition among drivers over the same route.
Under the program, drivers and operators are promised stable, sufficient, and dignified livelihoods while commuters get to their destinations quickly, safely, and comfortably.
The agency also said the program features regulatory reform and sets new guidelines for the issuance of franchises for road-based public transport services.
Under the program, the local government units are empowered to draft their route planning considering they are more versed in the terrain and passenger demand within their respective territorial jurisdiction./PN
