By SAI GOMEZ
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Dislocation in the guise of “modernization.”
After six years of the government’s program to phase out jeepneys, thousands of drivers and operators are still feeling the cruel punishment.
Among them is Erlando Añasco, a 64-year-old jeepney driver, who is among those affected by the Public Utility Vehicles Modernization Program (PUVMP).
By next month, Añasco’s over 20-year-old traditional jeepney is expected to be chopped down and sold to a junk shop. “It is saddening that they will phase out the traditional jeepneys. But we are left with no choice because the government is imposing it.”
Last June 19 marked the sixth year since the Department of Transportation signed Department Order No. 2017-011 or the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) which paved the way for the implementation of the PUVMP.
The deadline was supposedly due earlier this year. The government was forced to postpone it, however, due to strong public outcry.
Read: Transport strike compels Malacañang to review jeepney phaseout
“The old jeepneys are better because once they encounter problems, they can easily be fixed. Also, I don’t need to pay debts unlike in the modernized units,” he said.
Bigger expenses, smaller wages
For Añasco, his decision to go for a modernized jeepney has brought more uncertainties to his livelihood.
Before, he would start his day at 5:00 a.m. and end at 4:00 p.m. From this, he would earn about P1,700 ($30.53) a day. Of this, he can keep P500 ($8.98) since he needs to pay P700 ($12.57) to his operator while another P500 is allotted for fuel.
He said that this amount is just enough for him and his wife since his four children have already finished their studies. Of late, however, this is no longer enough due to the increasing prices of goods and services. “Sometimes, what I earn is not enough because of the high cost of water and electricity bills, and the prices of goods are very much expensive these days.”
Añasco also expressed his fears that the looming modernization will push him to extend his working hours to earn bigger since more expenses are on the way. For instance, he is expected to pay P1,600 ($28.74) as daily boundary to his cooperative, which is more than double than the current rate in his traditional jeepney. As regards diesel which modern jeepneys still use, he expects to spend around P2,000 ($35.92) daily.
Read: Difficult times ahead for jeepney, tricycle drivers as oil price continue to hike
He, therefore, needs to earn more than P4,000 ($71.84) a day, which is 135 percent higher compared to his current daily earnings of P1,700. However, the money he can bring home is still very little.
“I need to work longer. Unlike right now, when I think I earned enough, I can go home already since I am already old. Another problem is, the P12 ($0.22) fare in the modernized jeep here in our route remains the same, so I think I need to work from 5:00 am until 10:00 pm once I use the modern jeepneys,” he said.
According to the transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), one unit of a modernized jeep would actually cost as much as P2.6-million ($46,696.23). To pay for 15 units, an operator needs P40,000 ($718.40) monthly. PISTON said that the drivers would end up shouldering it.
Initially, the government only offered a P80,000 ($1,436.81) subsidy for operators who switched over to the modernized versions, but it has doubled to P160,000 ($2,873.61) after studying more about the program. Last March, the DOTr also announced it will further increase the equity subsidy to P260,000 ($4,669.62) by the second quarter of 2023.
However, Piston said that what the government claims as “aid” is not really much of a help as the subsidy only covers the 6% interest rate per annum.
Aside from the drivers, the operators will also be severely affected because of the program’s “one route, one franchise policy.” Cooperatives or corporations must be formed and registered with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to be granted a franchise.
Each cooperative must have at least 15 units of PUVs. This would mean one cooperative needs to pay at least P39 million ($700,443.51) for 15 modernized units — an amount that only big companies or corporations can afford.
Single-unit operators are therefore barred from having a franchise since the program’s implementation. For PISTON, this will only aggravate the monopoly in the public transportation sector.
“This will intensify monopoly because the parts of the modernized jeep are imported from other countries. We can see it with the first batch of modern PUVs, some of them are already not working since you can’t import only one or two parts, unlike the traditional jeepney that can easily be fixed because the parts are from here,” PISTON President Mody Floranda said.
PISTON said that if the government wants genuine modernization, there are other alternatives that will not cause suffering to drivers, operators and commuters.
Commuters’ travels and travails
Aside from drivers, commuters said that they are also affected by the so-called modernization program of the transport sector.
CM Remada, 23, said that her daily commute from Quezon City to her workplace in Pasig City has not changed and actually worsened. “Actually, I do not feel what they claim as modernization because the road problems are still there. There is still traffic and the fare is even higher in some modern vehicles.”
Remada said that once the traditional public utility vehicles (PUVs) are phased out, commuters like her will bear the brunt of having slimmer access to public transportation.
This became evident when thousands of jeepney drivers held a strike last March which severely affected the operations of schools and businesses with 80 to 100 percent of national roads in the National Capital Region paralyzed, according to Piston.
Read: Jeepney drivers, small operators hold transport strike vs. jeepney phase out
The push to modernize PUVs started years ago during the latter part of the administration of late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III who eyed phasing out PUVs that are over 15 years old.
This plan continued under Aquino’s successor, former president Rodrigo Duterte. The DOTr proposed the phaseout as part of the bill granting emergency powers to Duterte to solve what it called a transportation crisis.
In February 2017, several transport groups held consecutive strikes to protest the government’s plan. The groups stressed that only big companies can afford vehicle replacement. However, months later, Philippine authorities pushed through with the plan as they announced the start of the PUV modernization program under the OFG.
The program aims to phase out not just jeepneys but also other vehicles used for public transport like public utility buses (PUBs), minibuses, UV Express Services, multicabs, school services, taxis and transportation network vehicles service (TNVS) units.
Under this, PUVs more than 15 years old will be barred from traveling on the roads and will be replaced by environment-friendly vehicles with low-carbon and low-emission technology.
Read: Jeepney modernization’s rushed timeline neglects drivers’ woes
Read: Jeepney drivers plea for aid, resumption of operations
When the OFG was signed in 2017, then Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade vowed to improve public land transport which he said will be safe and enjoyable for commuters as the modernized vehicles can reduce air pollution and move people efficiently.
Rehabilitation, not phaseout
Floranda clarified that they are not against modernization. “From the start, we are not against modernization, because even before the government pushed for the PUVMP, our vehicles continue to enhance. But what we are calling for is to not remove the traditional jeepneys because doing so will negatively affect the drivers’ livelihood.”
Earlier this week, PISTON submitted their seven-point demands to the Marcos Jr administration which they hope will be considered in the ongoing review of the OFG.
The group proposes that instead of permanently phasing out traditional PUVs, the government should just rehabilitate current models. Floranda said that it has been long-proven that traditional jeepneys can last over 30 to 40 years through the skills of the drivers and operators.
Read: Start of jeepney phaseout protested, alternatives pushed
Next month, Marcos Jr will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). PISTON expects Marcos Jr to provide specific and actionable plans for the transportation sector, particularly for the thousands of transport workers affected by the PUVMP.
“No country across the world has successfully pushed for modernization by only relying on importation. If Marcos Jr will still force the use of electric vehicles, this will be of no value to the environment if millions of Filipino workers will have no jobs, and if the US and other foreign countries will only throw their excess products into our country. It will kill the livelihood of our poor drivers and small operators and will only deflate our national industry,” Floranda said.
The second component of the PUV Modernization Program is expected to start next year. (RTS, JJE, DAA) 
