Press Release - Opening statement of Sen. Grace Poe

Magandang umaga po sa inyong lahat. Marami po dito pamilyar na nakasama natin sa loob ng pitong taon at ako'y natutuwa na ang papalit sa Committee on Public Services ay isang maasahan natin at didinggin din ang inyong mga hinanaing... At tsaka, siyempre, I also like to acknowledge ang ating walang sawang pagtulong rin ng vice chair ng Committee on Public Services, si Senator JV.

Mr. Chair, kung papayagan lang ninyo ako, siyempre kayo na 'yung magpapatuloy nito. So bibigyan ko lang ng maikling summary ng mga nangyari .

Throughout the seven years, this committee has never stopped asking the Department of Transportation to revisit the program while we begged for cooperation from the drivers-operators and commuters.

Noon ngang mga nakaraang pagdinig natin sa isyu at sa budget ng programa, nangako muli ang DOTr na rerebisahin ang programa. Unfortunately, we have yet to see it make good on its commitment. Kumbaga, tila ba ang slogan ng PUV Modernization ay, "Pinangakuan na kayo, gusto nyo pang tuparin."

Unahin na natin ang plano ang mga ahensya sa 36,217 na pampublikong sasakyan na hindi nag-consolidate. This represents thousands of drivers and operators that are prevented from engaging in their primary source of livelihood. Nakalulungkot isipin na sa ika-pitong taon ng implementasyon ng PUVMP ay tila wala pa ring solido na plano ang DOTr para sa kanila.

Second, during our last committee hearing, DOTr promised to approve 50% of Local Public Transport Route Plans (LPTRPs) by June 30, 2024. However, as of last May, only 11% or 174 LPTRPs have been approved. 19 palang ang nadagdag or a mere 1.5% increase from the 9.5% or 155 approved LPTRPs in 2023. Anong klaseng road transport modernization ang hindi tapos ang ruta?

Third, I have repeatedly flagged the DOTr's poor budget utilization rate which it has failed to address time and time again. The Program's total budget utilization rate is only at 53% of its whopping P7.5 billion budget from 2018 to 2024. This is such a disservice to the drivers and operators who have been pounding on our doors to ask for assistance because they could not afford the cost of modernization. Ni isang singkong duling ay hindi pa ata nagagastos