The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has already extended financial aid worth P123 million to about 4,500 transport workers as 1,500 more jeepney and bus drivers have lined up to avail of more “ayuda” in the wake of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said Thursday.
President Marcos has directed national agencies to work together and support an alternative livelihood program intended for jeepney drivers and operators displaced by the PUVMP, Laguesma said.
In response, DOLE will extend at least P30,000 worth of in-kind livelihood assistance to each transport worker affected by the PUVMP under the “enTSUPERneur” livelihood program.
“We have extended cash aid to over 4,500 transport workers and have given P123 million worth of assistance. This year, at least 1,500 workers expressed intent to receive assistance,” Laguesma said.
The livelihood program is a joint initiative of the DOLE, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Transportation Cooperatives, and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
It includes livelihood packages that contain materials, inputs, and market linkages to assist the beneficiaries.
“Our President ordered us to converge and pool resources for the program,” said Laguesma.
Started in 2017, the PUVMP aims to replace traditional jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution and replace units that were not deemed roadworthy under the standards of the Land Transportation Office.
The consolidation of individual PUV franchises into cooperatives or corporations is the initial stage of the modernization program. This aims to pass the burden of acquiring modernized units from operators to the transport entity.
However, transport group Manibela on Wednesday vowed to storm the LTO and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) offices should the agencies apprehend operators and drivers of unconsolidated franchises that continue to operate after the PUVMP’s Jan. 31 consolidation deadline.
Manibela president Mar Valbuena said: “We really do not know what will happen on Feb. 1. It is beyond our control if they still ply the streets because they want to earn for living to feed their families. But we will not abandon them.”
“We will hold protests in front of the LTO and LTFRB,” he also told Manila Standard.
However, Pasang Masda and other transport groups support the government’s modernization program.
On Monday, Malacañang said the national government has already achieved a 76.6 percent consolidation rate for jeepneys as part of the PUVMP.
A total of 97.18 percent of the registered units of PUJs for 2023 have consolidated in Metro Manila, the LTFRB said.
PUV operators were given until Dec. 31, 2023, to consolidate, but in a Dec. 25 memorandum, the LTFRB said that individual operators on routes without a consolidated transport service entity (TSE) may be allowed to operate until January 31, 2024.
After the expiry of the memorandum, unconsolidated jeepney drivers and operators stand to lose their franchise and will be considered “colorum” and face arrest from Feb. 1 onward.