TRANSPORT group PISTON has welcomed the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to give more time for PUV operators to consolidate under the modernization program, saying it was the fruit of ”collective action.”
The modernization scheme has been opposed by PISTON and fellow transport group MANIBELA because they believe it will jeopardize the livelihood of jeepney operators and drivers, who will have to fork out a significant sum of money for new vehicles.
On Wednesday, the Palace announced that Marcos extended the consolidation deadline to April 30, 2024 ”to give an opportunity to those who expressed an intention to consolidate but did not make the previous cut-off.”
”Collective action works!” PISTON said in a statement.
”The fight continues. We will keep on mobilizing and holding massive decisive actions until the corporate-driven public utility vehicle modernization program is scrapped,” it added.
Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III, meanwhile, advised operators and drivers to take advantage of the extension.
If not for the extension, unconsolidated PUVs would be the target of the government’s anti-colorum efforts beginning February 1.
