It was rather unfortunate for the hundreds of low-income earning drivers of passenger jeepneys, especially for those who joined the public transport strike in Metro Manila last Monday. They heeded the militants’ call to stage this transport strike to dramatize their protest against the scheduled phase out of 15-year-old and above jeepney vehicles.
And what did they get out of not plying their routes?
They lost the primary source of the daily income of their families, many of whom are practically living from hand-to-mouth existence.
Mody Floranda, president of the militant jeepney drivers group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston) hailed the protest strike of drivers and operators a success in crippling the public transport services at the metropolis where an estimated three million commuters ride the jeepneys every day.
Government authorities though merely shrugged off the transport strike. In fact, both the national government along with the local government units (LGUs) of the affected areas pooled their resources and deployed trucks to pick up stranded commuters.
At the end of last Monday’s transport strike, designated “traffic czar,” Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade declared there is no stopping the implementation of the phaseout program of all these old, decrepit public utility vehicles (PUVs) all over the country.
Although Tugade made this tough talk, he was merely echoing the policy declaration no less of President Rodrigo Duterte when the phaseout program was first rolled out in 2017. “Mahirap kayo? P----g I--! Magtiis kayo sa hirap at gutom. Wala akong pakialam.” (You’re poor? SOB…You suffer in poverty and hunger. I don’t care.)
Under the government’s PUV modernization program, old jeepney units are required to be replaced with modern PUVs that are powered by either brand-new Euro 4 compliant diesel engines or electric motors.
The program provides a transition period ending on June 30, 2020 by which time the government targets to remove from the roads all polluting and dilapidated jeepneys. It seeks to replace about 80 percent of the over 170,000 jeepney units aged 15 years and older before President Duterte steps down from office in June, 2022.
As of July, a data from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) showed 4,000 modern jeepney units are being operated by drivers and operators who have availed of this program from the DOTr.
The government would continue to provide financial assistance to drivers and operators through jeepney cooperatives even after the deadline. The good news, as shared by Albay Congressman Joey Salceda at the House of Representatives, is the DOTr’s PUV modernization program will get permanent funding support from the government. That is, if the 18th Congress will be able to pass into law the proposed 300-percent increase in the road user’s tax, officially called motor vehicle user’s charge (MVUC).
The MVUC is collected by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) from the annual registration of all motor vehicle owners nationwide. To date, there are more than 11 million motor vehicles registered in the Philippines.
Under Salceda’s proposed bill amending the rates under the present law MVUC, each jeepney owner would get a P500,000 subsidy for every unit he owns. Under this scheme, Salceda disclosed, at least P25 billion will be set aside from MVUC collections annually for this PUV subsidy program to help them acquire new units. According to Salceda, the House committee on ways and means, which he chairs, have agreed in principle last Monday to endorse the enormous hike in the road levy.
Speaking of transport subsidy, former Customs commissioner Alberto Lina supports this idea of government funding assistance to operators of PUVs, especially to bus operators as the better option of providing better and more efficient mass transport utilities. Visiting us in our Tuesday Club breakfast gathering yesterday at the EDSA Shangri-la Hotel, Lina talked about his own bus transport business. He owns and operates the Ube Express Point-to-Point (P2P) buses which he started more than three years ago.
Ube Express runs 81 units of imported Mercedez buses that are air-conditioned and custom-made to accommodate persons with disability and pregnant women, according to Lina. Acquired at P9.6 million each, Lina bared, P3.3 million of which, or 30% was paid to the government on duty and value added tax.
Thus, Lina pointed out, subsidy to also modernize buses like his company’s fleet would suit the government’s requirements in addressing the need for more efficient transport system. Ube Express currently plies the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals to end points in Cubao, Ortigas, Alabang, Manila, Makati, and Nuvali (Laguna). This Friday, Lina announced, the P2P will start its new route PTx in Coastal to Lawton to service commuters from Cavite going to Manila.
Based on market study, he noted, ordinary Filipino commuters within a certain radius could only afford at least 10% of his monthly income to pay for his daily fare to and from work or office. Thus, at P50 fare, Lina cited, Ube Express P2P buses that have average 30-minutes waiting time at its terminals have captured quite a large patronage of commuters already.
But the clincher for Ube Express, Lina boasts, all their drivers are paid salaries, “all loaded” with fringe benefits, drive only for eight hours, and enjoy two days-off. Aside from simulators to train drivers on road safety, Lina subscribes to the business slogan:
“Those who have less in life should have more on the roads.”
It was actually a takeoff from the famous quote of the late Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay who once said: “Those who have less in life, should have more in laws.”
Lina has other bright ideas that Tugade and other government transport officials could take heed. It is not enough to be tough talking but our government transport officials must also act with informed decisions on how to ease the daily woes of commuters and drivers as well.