BDO Leasing and Finance Inc., a unit of BDO Unibank Inc. of tycoon Henry Sy, became the first privately-owned financial institution to finance the government’s jeepney modernization program.
BDO Leasing will join two state-run lenders Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines that will allocate funding for the program.
BDO Leasing said in a statement Wednesday it signed a loan agreement to finance the manufacture of modern public utility jeepneys.
“State-of-the-art jeepneys will soon ply the Metro Manila route—and eventually the rest of the country—with BDO Leasing and Finance Inc. at the driver’s seat of this trailblazing milestone,” it said.
“… BDOLF became the first privately-owned financial institution in the country to enter into a loan agreement to finance modern public utility jeepneys, in connection with the jeepney modernization program of the government… ,” it added.
The government under the program plans to replace all old PUJs aged 15 years or older with environment-friendly jeepneys that promote safer and more environment-friendly transport options.
Based on an initial study done by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, around 180,000 jeepeys nationwide face replacement under the program.
BDOLF teamed up with Transport Equipment Aggregator and Management Inc. (1-TEAM), a company that manages and consolidates PUVs under a unified management system, to provide funding for five units of modern jeepneys, or BEEP (shortened name for Bagong Jeep).
The BEEPs will be supplied by IKK Ichigan Inc., a former BDOLF client and an existing BDO commercial banking client.
1-TEAM is the first and only fleet management company in the country to consolidate around 30 individual PUJs under a single fleet system. Its services include the provision of logistical support, manpower selection and training, equipment repair and maintenance, and the operation of public land transport services such as jeepneys, taxis, buses and UV express vans.
Each BEEP unit is air-conditioned and powered by a Euro IV-compliant diesel engine. With a size almost as big as a mini bus, each BEEP unit will also have a seating capacity of 24 passengers plus driver.