By ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
IT SEEMS there’s no definite date yet for the “funeral” of traditional jeepneys (tradjeeps) despite the “itchiness” of the government to implement the “unwanted” Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
What’s clear is that the government “wobbles” where to get the exact answer to address the “loudest cry” of “tradjeep” operators and drivers against Department Order (DO) No. 2017-001 of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) re: PUVMP.
Then, the call to defer such an infamous DO No. 2017-001 snowballs even in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III urged the DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to “step on the brakes” of PUVMP.
Worse, presidential sister and senator Imee Marcos earlier asked DOTr to revoke the “deadly deadlines” for the said program.
Her “so touching” quote: “Who doesn’t want a new vehicle? But with the high cost of living, how many can afford one?”
‘REEKS OF CORRUPTION’
But I do agree with Sen. Raffy Tulfo when he stressed that the government’s plan to import modernized vehicles from China to replace “tradjeeps” “reeks of corruption”.
Tulfo’s pronouncement is “so heavy” but with sense. Imagine if he’s right. The price of per vehicle from China is P2.9 million. Is this affordable?
Well, believe it or not, there could be “black magic” behind this controversial PUVMP. And for me, Senator Tulfo was relatable in his patutsada against concerned government agency/ies involved in this jeepney modernization program.
‘FUNNY’ TO ‘FUNNIER’ TO ‘FUNNIEST’
In Bacolod City, I somehow agree with Rudy Catedral, sitting president of the Bacolod Alliance for Commuters, Operators and Drivers (BACOD), with regards to this PUVMP.
In a one-on-one interview, Catedral, with all candidness, told me: “The government ain’t ready for PUVMP. It’s the truth!”
That’s the reason why they continue to resist and nix the government’s “swaying move” on the issue.
Catedral confessed that if government is ready and serious with PUVMP, they’ll have no choice but to succumb to DO No. 2017-001.
“But how can we trust DO No. 2017-001 if the government per se is uncertain regarding it?”
“What we want is,” he stressed, “for government to give us an assurance as to what assistance it could extend to us once we become jobless.”
But the “silence” of the government on tradjeeps’ operators’ and drivers’ demand is getting “funny” to “funnier” to “funniest”.
‘POLITICS OF THE BELLY’
As to the latest deadline set by DOTr and LTFRB re: consolidation until this Jan. 31, Catedral said, “We will not comply still.”
Rather, he said they will continue to hold protest(s) on the streets until DO No. 2017-01 will finally “be laid to rest six feet below the ground.”
Again, in Bacolod, data show only 23 percent or 540 of the 2,313 “tradjeeps” have consolidated into cooperative or corporation.
Meaning, if the PUVMP is “a go” later, the remaining 1,7773 “tradjeeps” will be labeled colorum. What will happen to the thousands of mouths depending on these 1,773 unconsolidated “tradjeeps”?
Is government willing to feed them?
As I said again and again and again: “The ‘politics of the belly’ ain’t easy to counter.” I think, figuratively speaking, no statute yet could govern such.
As what the old folks say: “Ang naga-ragu-ok nga t’yan, amo gid ang dapat balantayan.”
POLITICAL MATERIAL
Hence, PUVMP, sans further ado, will become the best political material sooner.
As preparation for the 2025 elections, DO No. 2017-001 is becoming a hot topic in coffee shops and markets, among other crowded places.
For sure if the government can’t implement such an order at the end of January, then I can say that the succeeding months leading to May 2025 would not be a “great weather for ducks”.
Any politician who’ll push DO No. 2017-01 to be implemented will be “politically cursed” by many.
And if this happens, it’s the PUVMP and not the “tradjeeps” that will surely meet its “funeral”./PN
