Pandemic and phaseout: Double whammy for PUJ drivers

CEBU, Philippines — The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the livelihood of Edwin Piape and Rico Amosco, both traditional public utility jeepney (TPUJ) drivers.

They lost their source of income since the suspension of jeepney operations in late March, when strict quarantine measures were first imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.

But even when restrictions are now relaxed and some TPUJs were already allowed to return to the streets, their livelihood remains in limbo as the government is set to phase out TPUJs.

The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, which aims to remove jeepneys that are 15 years old and older off the roads as to improve passenger safety and to promote the use of environment-friendly vehicles, was supposed to take full implementation in 2016 but was put on hold.

Piape, who started driving a jeep in 1988, said the phaseout will make their situation even worse. He said his family is barely making ends meet.

“Luoy kaayo mi og kaigi intawon. Karon pa ko kasuway nga wala gyuy income,” the 51-year-old father of two said.

Piape’s plight was also shared by Amosco, who slowly became penniless after the lockdown.

They are left to find other means to survive in the absence of normalcy in the face of the outbreak. What used to be a decent wage turned to nothing.

Piape used to earn at least P1,000 a day, a significant amount compared to what he is earning now from selling some household and food items.

While 42-year-old Amosco now works as a part-time family driver, he said he is barely getting by.

“Pwerte gyung paita. Pag lockdown gyud halos wala nay kaon akong pamilya kay wala nay income kay hunong man tanan ang transportasyon,” he said.

The two are among the thousands of drivers displaced by the pandemic. And more drivers will be affected by the expected TPUJ phaseout.

Ryan Benjamin Yu, general manager and president of City Integrated Transport Multi-purpose Cooperative, said 2,000 of its drivers are already jobless.

“Luoy kaayo gyud up to now but some of them napasulod namo as family driver, construction workers, househelper ug uban pa,” said Yu adding the company also gave some relief assistance to its displaced drivers during the lockdown.

Cebu has 8,000 traditional jeepneys.

Reviving for return

Amosco and Piape have appealed to the government not to remove TPUJs and to allow all jeepneys to operate anew.

“Naa pa man ta sa pandemic karon. Lugwayan unta sa gobyerno ang pag phaseout. Kay samot gyud ang kalisud namo ani. Ilaha untang tugtan nga makadagan pa ang mga traditional jeeneys kay para sa among panginabuhian. Sa akong edad nga 51, maglisud na ko pangita og trabaho,” said Piape.

Greg Perez, president of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide-Cebu, also expressed disgust over the program of the government to phase out the traditional mode of transportation.

He said more than 500,000 jeepney drivers nationwide will be affected. Around 8,000 of them are in Cebu.

“Gipahimuslan sa Department of Transportation ang pandemic. Ilang gidali-dali ang pag phaseout sa mga jeepneys. Naguba gyud ang sector sa mga drivers,” said Perez.

“Ang uban nanguli sa ilang probinsiya unya naninda og uling, balot, isda og uban pa aron lang gyud mabuhi. Pero dili gyud gihapon paigo ang kita para sa matag adlaw nga panginabuhian,” he added.

This year, Perez said PISTON will launch a series of mass protests against the government’s jeepney modernization program.

“Walay balaod nga nagmando nga pwede nilang i phaseout ang mga traditional jeepneys,” he said.

‘Only Way’

But Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino said the phaseout will be the start of the “golden age of Cebu’s transportation system” during the launching of the modernized Public Utility Vehicles last June.

A total of 298 modernized PUVs, including 250 taxi units and 25 electronic jeepneys, started plying the streets six months back.

The PUVs feature free wi-fi, charging ports, fan cooling system, cushion seats, dash cams, and airconditioned units, among others.

For some jeepney operators, they said there is no other way to go but the modernized jeepneys.

“Mao na man gyud ni ang direction sa government. Anha na gyud ta padung sa modernized jeepneys,” said Yu.

CITRASCO, the biggest transport cooperative in the Visayas, has over 1,000 traditional jeepneys but it is now slowly transitioning into operating modernized jeepneys.

Yu added that CITRASCO is eyeing to have at least 600 more units of modernized jeepneys running on Cebu's streets this year in compliance with the Public Utility Jeepney Modernization Program of the Department of Transportation.

With 600 units in the pipeline, Yu said the company can absorb at least 800 drivers and other personnel for unit maintenance.

Hendry Fritz Co, chairperson of Cordova Lapu-Lapu Metro Cebu Transport Cooperative (CLMC), has deployed 20 units in October last year for two Cebu City routes.

Co added that CLMC plans to add 600 units of modernized jeeps.

The deployment will be done by phases starting with 200 units this year.

Lawyer Gary Maningo, acting chairman of the transport sector of People’s Jeep, said 57 out of the 170 units of modernized jeeneys are already running.

The other 113 units are ready by this year. Maningo said they are also in the process of acquiring additional 200 units this year.

This developed as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 announced to allow 4,000 units of modernized jeepneys to ply in Cebu province and in the highly urbanized cities this year.

“Eventually ang traditional jeeneys mawala gyud na kay ang mga operators are now operating the modernized jeepneys,” said LTFRB-7 Regional Director Eduardo Montealto Jr.

Around 60 percent to 70 percent of traditional jeepney operators in Cebu are already consolidated and are now shifting into modernized jeepneys.

Yu said CITRASCO supports the transport modernization program.

He, however, has issues with its sustainability, citing LTFRB’s policy on the renewal of permit.

The policy states that the permit to operate is reneweable every 15 days,

then a memo is issued again for its extension.

“We can operate anytime. Ang concern namo kaning sustainability and security kay ang permit to operate every 15 days then renew na sad. Loan baya ni among puhunan sa among mga units og moingon ang LTFRB nga dili ta padaganon, how can we pay our loans?” said Yu.

Maningo also said that if government is serious in its efforts to modernize the jeepney sector, then it should no longer allow traditional jeeneys to ply on the streets.

“Gusto nila mag modernize na ta but how come they are still allowing traditional jeepneys on the streets?” Maningo asked.

Yu also echoed Maningo’s statement, saying “ang effort ron sa atong gobyerno kay three steps forward unya one step backward”.

It can be recalled that LTFRB-7 and the Cebu City government have allowed the reoperation of traditional jeepneys last month. There are more than 250 units operating in various routes in Cebu City.

But Montealto said traditional jeepney operators have until December 30, 2020 to consolidate and will be given a provisional authority to operate for another one year.

“Pero kadtong mga operators nga wala na consolidate, kung naay mo apply sa ilang ruta, they will be automatically be dropped kay kuhaon na ilang franchise para ihatag sa kadtong naka consolidate,” Montealto said.

Perez said this is the reason why PISTON does not want to be consolidated or join a cooperative as it does not want to surrender its franchise.

The DOTr has cited that among the components of the PUV modernization program are fleet modernization through low carbon, low emission vehicle technology and imposition of standards to ensure passenger safety and carbon emission level compliance in order to improve ambient air quality and proper fleet management and maintenance.

The Philippines is committed to reduce carbon monoxide emission and the phaseout of traditional jeepneys is one of the measures to meet that goal. — KQD (FREEMAN)