Marcos acknowledges current PUV modernization is not viable - Palace

Metro Manila, Philippines - President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has acknowledged that the current modernization program for public utility vehicles (PUV) is not viable, Malacañang said on Wednesday, June 4.

During his confirmation hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, June 3, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon said the current state of the modernization program is “not viable” as many drivers and operators find it hard to pay loans from purchasing new jeepney units.

Dizon also said there are limited suppliers, as well as loan options for cooperatives and operators under the current setup.

The transportation chief said a modern unit costs between P2.5 to P2.8 million, with the government providing a 15% subsidy. Operators would have to shell out P2.3 million – which means a P40,000 monthly amortization if the unit is payable over five years.

Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said the president is aware of these concerns.

“Sa ngayon po, ihahanda po muna lahat pero tandaan po natin, tuloy pa rin po ang PUV modernization program. Ihahanda lang po natin lahat ang mga stakeholders po dito,” she said.

“Noong binanggit po ito ni Secretary Dizon kay Pangulo, positibo naman po ang response ng ating Pangulo at ayaw naman din po niyang pahirapan ang mga operators at mga jeepney drivers natin kung ipu-push po ito tapos parang pilit,” Castro added.

[Translation: For now, everything will be prepared first, but let us remember that the PUV modernization program will still continue. We are just preparing all the stakeholders involved…When Secretary Dizon mentioned this to the President, Marcos responded positively and also doesn't want to make things difficult for our operators and jeepney drivers if this will be pushed through in a way that feels forced.]

In an interview with NewsWatch Plus on May 30, Dizon said the agency decided to reopen the franchise consolidation for non-compliant operators early last month after hearing their concerns.

“I think it’s unfair na nagsara tayo last year na ang dami naman pala problema ng programa so kawawa naman yung iba nating operator na essentially, pinatay ng gobyerno ang hanapbuhay nila,” he said.

[Translation: I think it’s unfair that we closed consolidation last year even though it turns out the program had so many problems so it’s really unfortunate for some of our operators whose livelihoods were essentially taken away by the government.]

In a statement on Tuesday, the Department of Transportation said it is also exploring options to open up modern units to different suppliers to liberalize the supply, lower prices, and make loan-paying easier.

The agency also vowed to fix route rationalization, which Dizon said is only at 20%.