TRANSPORT group PISTON joined the Makabayan bloc on Thursday in filing a House resolution calling for the repeal of the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) and the deferment of the December 31, 2023 deadline for the application of franchise consolidation.
The OFG, or the DOTr Department Order 2017-011, is the policy being used by the government to implement its Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), including the franchise consolidation requirement.
Mandatory franchise consolidation is one of the first steps in the implementation of the PUVMP. According to PISTON, PUV operators are being forced to surrender their individual franchises to be consolidated into a single franchise per cooperative or corporation. This could result in a monopoly by a few large cooperatives or corporations with the necessary financial capacity to comply with the hefty capital requirements for “modernizing” and controlling PUV routes, thereby concentrating market control in the hands of a few corporate entities.
“Pinaggigiitan ng DOTr at LTFRB na wala raw phaseout sa December 31, deadline lang daw sa consolidation. Ang ayaw nilang unawain ay ang pagtataboy sa karapatan ng mga maliliit na operator na magmay-ari ng indibidwal na prangkisa ay katumbas na ng phaseout, hindi lang ng kanilang mga sasakyan, kundi ng kanilang mga kabuhayan,” said PISTON National President Mody Floranda.
The group urged the House of Representatives to promptly adopt the resolution to protect thousands of drivers and small operators who are on the brink of displacement by the start of 2024.
The resolution questions the feasibility of the franchise consolidation requirement, highlighting the financial struggles faced by operators who have already complied with the program. A jeepney driver typically earns around Php 500 per day, while a jeepney operator earns approximately Php 2,500 per jeepney per day. These earnings fall far short of the estimated Php 6,899 daily income required for a modern jeepney to cover the costs of modernization, as per a study by Prof. Teodoro Mendoza of UPLB.
“Ang problema sa consolidation, kapag pumasok ka dito, wala nang prangkisang mababawi ang mga operator. Kaya kapag nalugi o nabaon sa utang ang mga coop dahil sa mga hindi makataong rekisitos ng PUVMP, hindi na mababawi ng mga operator ang mga ipinasok nilang mga prangkisa dahil naka-consolidate na. Ang gagawin na lang ng LTFRB ay ipapasa ang mga consolidated na prangkisa sa mga malalaking coop o korporasyon na may sapat na kapital. Sino’ng nakinabang? Edi hindi kaming mga maliliit, kundi yung mga malalaking negosyo pa rin,” Floranda added.
