Piston directly challenged Department of Transportation (DOTr) secretary Vince Dizon regarding the disastrous Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
In a dialogue held on Monday, March 21, Piston national president and Makabayan senatorial candidate Mody Floranda alongside Piston regional leaders presented how the PTMP has been bankrupting drivers and operators, devastating families, and crippling the public transport system.
Exposing the PTMP
Floranda reminded Dizon that the program’s failures are no secret, “For eight years, drivers and operators have been fighting against this program. Now, many operators are no longer allowed to renew the registration of their jeepneys and franchises, which is ruining their livelihoods and harming commuters. The number of jeepneys has also significantly decreased from 300,000 to just 150,000.”
Modernization’s disaster
Transport cooperatives participating in the PTMP are buried in debt. Huge cooperatives across the country reported millions in loan arrears, with drivers barely earning a living wage. In Iloilo, the region’s largest cooperative admitted it can no longer pay drivers or meet loan obligations. Meanwhile, Baguio’s largest cooperative disclosed it is drowning in a ₱14 million debt to Landbank.
Modernized units have proven unsustainable, driving operators into bankruptcy while generating far lower incomes for drivers compared to traditional jeepneys. Testimonies shared today reveal that modernization units fail to achieve even half the earnings of their traditional counterparts.
Piston also condemned the deliberate exclusion of unconsolidated operators from registration renewal—a policy that criminalizes the livelihood of thousands.
Local Public Transport Route Plans (LPTRPs) were also called out as being used as schemes that hand over routes to large transport corporations, displacing smaller individual operators. In Baguio alone, the proposed route rationalization threatens to eliminate 600 transport units—cutting off essential livelihood for countless drivers and operators.
Demanding accountability
Dizon admitted being unaware of the full extent of these crises. While he has promised to review and consider allowing registration renewals for unconsolidated PUVs and to gather further data, Piston demands immediate and decisive action. Commitments and consultations are no longer enough.
The PTMP must be immediately scrapped, and the entire public transport system must be restructured to genuinely prioritize the welfare of transport workers and commuters.
Public transportation will never be in the interest of the public if it enriches corporations and corrupt officials at the expense of the people.
Dizon’s promise to consider allowing the renewal of unconsolidated franchises within a week is a start, but falls far short of what’s needed.
The fight for a progressive, nationalist, and pro-people public transport is far from over. We will continue to fight in the streets, in the courts, and in the halls of government until all our demands are met.