Transport workers have never opposed development or modernization per se. However, what we vehemently oppose, especially small operators, is this contrived “modernization” that displaces the livelihoods of thousands of small operators and drivers by dismantling single-unit franchises and imposing overpriced imported vehicles.
In fact, most operators who joined the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) were coerced after the government repeatedly threatened to strip them of their livelihoods. But because the PUVMP is flawed, as evident in the results of numerous Congress hearings and in the Senate resolution urging its suspension, they are now experiencing its true intent: to burden them and plunge them deeper into debt.
To the benefit of the new DOTr Secretary: Genuine progress must be rooted in improving the livelihoods of the people, not in serving the interests of a few big businesses, corrupt government officials, and foreign capital.
- Here’s what the DOTr must do immediately:
- Allow all PUVs, including those who refused to consolidate, to renew their registrations without delay.
- Abolish forced franchise consolidation.
- Restore the five-year franchise validity for all PUVs.
- Scrap the current corporate-driven, foreign-oriented PUVMP.
In the long term, if the DOTr is serious about modernizing public transport, it must begin steps toward nationalizing the sector by seriously reviewing and terminating all privatization contracts that undermines the efficiency and affordability of public transport as a public good.