ILOILO City – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Region 6 is awaiting the official copy of a board resolution or memorandum circular authorizing the reopening of applications for the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUVs) under the government’s Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
Once the official resolution or memo is received, LTFRB-6 will begin accepting applications immediately, said Atty. Salvador Altura, Jr., legal counsel and spokesperson for LTFRB-6.
He confirmed that an advanced notification on this was sent to the regional office by their central office.
LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III announced yesterday that unconsolidated PUV drivers and operators could again apply for consolidation under the PTMP, which was formerly known as the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Guadiz said the application period is for 45 days in response to a Senate request.
“I only gave them 45 days, following the Senate’s earlier resolution asking us to defer. My concession is that I reopened it, but only for 45 days,” he said.
According to Guadiz, the new application period commenced on October 15, with a deadline set for November 28. However, he clarified that PUV drivers and operators who have yet to consolidate are only allowed to join existing cooperatives and are not permitted to form new ones.
For his part, Altura emphasized that the reopening of consolidation applications mainly applies to local government units (LGUs) without an approved Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
In the case of Iloilo City, applications for consolidation are no longer being accepted, as the number of authorized units per route was finalized with the approval of the city’s enhanced LPTRP.
Under this plan, Iloilo City has been awarded 1,782 authorized units, with more than 500 minibuses currently operating.
“In the region, we are in a good position. Both Iloilo City and Bacolod City have LPTRPs, and the consolidation rate is around 90%. In terms of unconsolidated vehicles, we’re talking about a few hundred, not thousands. In Iloilo City, consolidation is no longer needed,” Altura clarified.
Guadiz encouraged unconsolidated PUV drivers and operators to join the modernization program, highlighting the benefits, including fuel subsidies of P10,000 and service contracting payments of P15,000 to P20,000 through the Libreng Sakay program.
Following the initial consolidation deadline on April 30, the LTFRB declared unconsolidated PUVs as “colorum,” or operating without a franchise. However, the agency allowed these vehicles to continue operating on over 2,500 routes with low consolidation rates.
In July, 22 out of 23 senators signed a resolution urging the government to temporarily suspend the PUV Modernization Program. Despite this, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has remained firm in his support of the program. As of September, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) reported that 83% of PUVs had already consolidated.
The PTMP, launched in 2017, aims to replace old jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to reduce pollution and ensure roadworthiness.
However, the cost of a modern jeepney, which exceeds P2 million, has been deemed prohibitive for many operators, even with state-run banks like LandBank and the Development Bank of the Philippines offering loans. Consolidation of individual franchises into cooperatives or corporations is the initial phase of the program.
In August, the DOTr announced that the program had moved into the route rationalization stage./PN
