The recent revelation on Ted Failon’s radio program confirming the significantly lower actual consolidation rates under the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) represents a watershed moment in our ongoing struggle against this ill-conceived program.
As Piston has consistently maintained since the program’s inception, the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and the Marcos administration have been deliberately misrepresenting the true state of public transport consolidation to justify their continued push for a program that threatens the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of small operators and drivers nationwide.
The information disclosed today, by a DOTr source on the “Think About It” segment in the “Ted Failon at DJ Chacha sa True FM” radio program validates what Piston has been asserting all along – that the widely publicized 80% nationwide consolidation rate repeatedly claimed by former Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista and Marcos Jr. is a fabrication designed to create the illusion of successful implementation.
The reality revealed today paints a drastically different picture: nearly 111,000 public utility vehicles nationwide have not completed the consolidation process, representing approximately 58% of all PUVs across the country. In Metro Manila alone, around 33,000 jeepneys (nearly 70% of the total) remain unconsolidated, along with nearly 4,800 UV Express units.
These figures align perfectly with Piston’s own estimates in January 2024, which indicated that around 70% of operators in the National Capital Region had not entered into consolidation. For months, transport officials have dismissed our findings as misinformation while continuing to extend deadlines – a tacit admission that their own targets were unattainable and their public statements were misleading.
From the outset, Piston has opposed mandatory franchise consolidation as a cornerstone of the modernization program because it fundamentally undermines the independence of small operators by forcing them to surrender their individual franchises to cooperatives or corporations. This scheme, promoted under the principle of “one route, one franchise, one operator,” inevitably leads to monopolistic control of public transportation routes by large, financially capable entities at the expense of traditional jeepney operators who have served the Filipino commuting public for generations.
The consistently low actual consolidation rates, now confirmed by a DOTr source, demonstrate the transportation sector’s widespread rejection of this harmful policy. Despite numerous extensions of deadlines and the threat of losing their right to operate, the majority of operators have resisted because they recognize the existential threat consolidation poses to their livelihoods.
Given this definitive evidence that the consolidation component of the modernization program has failed, Piston categorically demands:
1. The immediate and permanent scrapping of the PTMP and all consolidation requirements.
2. The restoration of individual franchises to all operators including those who have already consolidated but wish to withdraw from cooperatives or corporations, as the current limited withdrawal provisions are wholly inadequate.
3. An independent, transparent investigation into the systematic misrepresentation of consolidation data by government officials, with appropriate accountability measures for those who have deliberately misled the public.
4. The Supreme Court’s immediate issuance of a temporary restraining order on the implementation of the entire PTMP, as we have repeatedly petitioned.
The revelation of the true consolidation numbers offers an opportunity to reset this failed approach and develop a genuine modernization program that is progressive, nationalist, and pro-people.
As we have consistently warned, forcing this program through would leave millions of commuters stranded and devastate the livelihoods of countless Filipino families.
New DOTr secretary Vince Dizon is now tasked to clean up this mess. He must acknowledge that a modernization program cannot succeed when it is fundamentally opposed by the very sector it purports to modernize.
The revelation of these true consolidation numbers vindicates our position and strengthens our resolve to continue fighting for a progressive and equitable transportation system that serves both transport workers and the riding public.
Watch the Ted Failon segment here