Don’t let Philippine jeeps down to their “-neys”
By Rhey Flores | posted 09/12/23
For most of the middle-class Filipinos, the Pinoy jeepney has brought them to their destinations. This transportation icon, which costs us only a few pennies, can lead the way to our own “Filipino dreams.”
With the ongoing transition of our country to modernized jeepneys, transportation groups have been protesting on the streets of major cities in the Philippines, including Manila. Last November, about thousandfold jeepney drivers under the banner of Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), organized a transport strike, together with a handful of associations and federations. This comes after the government gave an ultimatum to consolidate jeepney operators, which will end on December 31 this year under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. This is a plan proposed by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2017 together with the Department of Transportation, in hopes of modernizingthe public transportation system in the country, but the said plan has received mixed support from sectors.
In this regard, I am for the improvement of public utility vehicles (PUVs) in the Philippines, but I am also against the importation of foreign vehicles instead of rehabilitating them. It will bring suffering to those jeepney operators who are trying to make their families’ ends meet. PISTON’s national president Mody Floranda also shares the same sentiment mentioned above. He says in a statement to CNN Philippines that “if the government wants to improve the transport sector, it should focus on rehabilitating it — a local industry that will produce jeepneys should also be established instead of tapping foreign manufacturers.”
Furthermore, the said consolidation is a scheme that would result in jeepney phaseout — -meaning, jeepney operators would be forced to buy a new unit. It would also result in monopolization of jeepney units that will hit the highways. In a Rappler article, Floranda also said that the people should not be “deceived” in this act. “‘Wag na nila lituhin ang taumbayan. Ang franchise consolidation ay phaseout. Ang franchise consolidation ay pagbawi at pagmasaker sa mga indibidwal na prangkisa at pagpasa nito sa mga malalaking transport corporation na sila lang may kapasidad na magbayad at sumunod sa mga pakana ng gubyerno,” he quoted.
Note, if the Marcos government would like to deliver on their promises, they must prioritize what is attainable for the middle-to-low-class workers such as jeepney drivers, more than just replacing them with new ones. Why don’t they try to replace the machines inside the jeepneys? If they do not try to do so, they are aiming for profit, not for the Filipinos’ welfare and equity.
Now that they helped us to arrive at our destinations, let us help them too. We must give them a chance by paving the way to their dreams and listening to their plight. Such acts are helpful for them. We must not bring down the jeepney industry to zero. They permanently shaped our culture and ingrained in our own identity. We must not let them down to their knees.
