• CHRYSEE G. SAMILLANO
A resolution urging the Congress of the Philippines to expedite the passage of legislative measure(s) that will adequately address and cushion the impact of the brewing crisis consequent to the public utility vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program of the Government, was unanimously approved by the Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod Friday.
Resolution No. 37, series of 2024, crafted by Councilor Renecito Novero, said that during the regular SP session last Friday, the transport sector of Bacolod City through Kabacod Negros Transport (KNETCO-PISTON-NPTC) president Lilian Sembrano, articulated their sentiment regarding the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP) of the government, whereby they expressed conformity to the PUVMP on a personal voluntary basis but at the same time ventilated their vehement objection to the mandatory consolidation scheme.
Among their reasons is that it is constitutionally infirm as it transgresses their right to freedom of association; the cost of consolidation is high and inhibitive; it will instantly render useless their traditional jeepney units which they had for years spent for; and it will disenfranchise thousands of jeepney operators and drivers in the country and thus deprive millions of Filipino families of their basic source of income for daily sustenance and for their children’s education, it said.
This current crisis in the transport industry has also seriously affected thousands of daily commuters who have to stand in long queues under the heat of the sun for lack of PUVs that could take them to their respective destinations, the resolution said.
The Sangguniang Paungsod of Bacolod City was informed that public hearings on this current issue were already conducted in Congress, more particularly in the House of Representatives, where both the sides of the government and of the transport sector were comprehensively articulated, it said.
It is imperative that this current crisis in the transport industry, seriously affecting as it does the whole country, must be promptly addressed and resolved to prevent it from escalating into a more severe social unrest consequent to massive economic dislocation of millions of Filipino families, the resolution said.
Copies of the resolution will be furnished with dispatch to Speaker Martin Romualdez of the House of Representatives and Senate president Juan Miguel Zubiri, as well as the Office of President Ferdinand Marcos through the Office of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, it added.*
