Secretary Arthur P. Tugade of the DOTr said that political will is one of the hallmark of the Duterte administration and they will push through with the implementation of the PUVMP Now Na!! Not Tomorrow and not Next Year in reaction to the planned nationwide protest.
“Our public transportation system is disorganized because it is individualistic in nature; no system, no efficiency. Unlike in other countries, Singapore for that matter, they have only three operators that ensures the public transportation is being run efficiently. Consolidated ang operations… That is the transportation system we are pursuing, a semblance of efficiency, a semblance of an organized system,” DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon said in a press briefing held at the Malacañang Palace.
Undersecretary De Leon emphasized that the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) provides transport vehicles for safe and secured travels, it lessens illegal parking and traffic, and lastly, it provides income and basic benefits for drivers and operators, including Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth and Home Development Program (HDMF).
Mark de Leon also explained that the basic policy is instead of individual operators and drivers, the franchises will be given to cooperatives that will ensure financial viability of the operations because their fleet management and dispatchment are efficient.
In support to the PUVMP, the Cordillera Basic Sectors Transport Cooperative (CBSTC) complied with the requirements of the PUVMP, and facilitated an easier access to financial institutions. A special loan/financing program for PUVMP with Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) and Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) to provide access to transport cooperatives at 6 percent per annum, payable in 7 years and a subsidy of P 80,000.00 per vehicle.
For transport cooperatives availing the PUVMP, DOTr and all its attached agencies, in coordination with TESDA, CDA, and DBP, will provide technical assistance in terms of trainings and social support programs to offered to enable them to be competent, self-sufficient and well-equipped with the necessary technical knowledge and skills.
According to Rex A. Bayangan, spokesperson of CBSTC had been conducting test drive of Class 3 PUVs in Metro Baguio and found these to be road worthy. Bayangan also said these modernized public utility vehicles will also be equipped with closed-circuit television cameras, a GPS navigation system, an automatic fare collection system, speed limiters, dashboard cameras, and Wi-Fi, allowing them to monitor their movements and routes for a safe and secured travel, and for the drivers and commuters to be disciplined. CBSTC, which initiated the PUVMP Summit, conducts test driving to all PUVMP which is built in accordance with the PNS and found it to be road worthy and capable of the road conditions in CAR.
Atty. Martin B. Delgra III, Chairman of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, said, “If there is such a thing as a golden age of infrastructure, this is it. With the Build, Build, Build Program, I’m happy to note that this may be the golden age of LTFRB Never has it ever occurred in the history of the agency na ganito kalawak, kalalim, at ka-meaningful ang mga proyekto ng ahensiya.”
“The law mandates it because it is good for the country and for the people,” according to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte on PUV Modernization
