LTFRB confident about jeepney modernization

RECENTLY reinstated Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo Guadiz 3rd said on Thursday the agency is confident the jeepney modernization program will be implemented.

Guadiz said more jeepney drivers are agreeable to the program's objectives.

He said that 60 percent of jeepney drivers have consolidated as of October.

The Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) is set to hold a transport strike on Monday to protest the franchise consolidation deadline of the government's public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

Guadiz said he has reached out to Piston President Mody Floranda regarding the group's strike plan.

He said Floranda assured him they only wanted President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to be aware of their plight.

The group had set the strike from November 20 to 22, after the government rejected its request to remove the December 31 deadline to consolidate franchises — the first component of the modernization plan that would eventually phase out traditional jeepneys.

Floranda said their appeal to suspend the entire program was not met following the recent proposed amendments to the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG).

The group said the franchise consolidation deadline is a «scheme» that may result in a monopoly by a few big fleet managers or corporations that have the capacity to capitalize on and sell modernized vehicles.

On their Facebook page, Piston said the modernization is a scheme for businessmen and corporations to take over the livelihoods of small operators.

LTFRB Technical Division Head Joel Bolano denied that consolidation will pave the way for a monopoly, saying operators and drivers will retain control of their present routes.