Bulatlat News
By KING ARBEE QUINTO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Jeepney drivers are up in arms over Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent pronouncement that he is supporting the modernization of public transport despite the Senate’s call to suspend the program.
Media reports quoted Marcos Jr. as saying that the government will continue the implementation of the modernization program, saying that those objecting or asking for suspension are “in the minority.”
On July 31, the Senate filed a resolution suspending the implementation of the program as it has been rushed. The Senate also added that before continuing the program, the government should first address the concerns of the jeepney operators and drivers.
Read: Jeepney drivers welcome Senate move to suspend transport modernization
In a press release, jeepney drivers group Piston said that ignoring the Senate’s move only shows that Marcos’ action does not acknowledge the suffering that it would cause jeepney drivers and commuters.
“It seems this regime’s priorities lie in benefiting businesses and bureaucrats, even if it means imposing the burden on hard-working citizens with excessive debts and fares,” Piston national president Mody Floranda said in a statement.
He added that “genuine modernization” cannot be achieved as long as the government will prioritize foreign and corporate interests.
In an interview with Bulatlat, jeepney driver Norman Romero San Pablo said modernizing the jeepneys is a threat to their livelihoods.
“If the modernization will continue to be implemented, how am I going to sustain the needs of my family? I have many children—they are 12. I raised all of them through my income as a jeepney driver,” he said.
“To President Marcos, please help us. Look after us because back then, we saw you as our hope,” he told Marcos Jr.
Following the statement of Marcos Jr., Senate President Francis Escudero said that they are not against the modernization program but are only looking at how this project may ruin the livelihood of the drivers and operators.
“This is how the relationship between the executive and legislative branches should be, it cannot be one-sided all the time,” he said in media reports.
The deadline for the jeepney consolidation was last Dec. 31. This was later extended to April 30. (RTS, JJE) 
