Newly appointed Office for Transport Cooperatives (OTC) chief Teofilo Guadiz III vowed Monday to end the artificial shortage of public utility vehicles (PUVs) on key routes and restore full operations for transport cooperatives.
Guadiz said his top priority is to “restore the full operational capacity of transport cooperatives and ensure that commuters are no longer burdened by the lack of available rides.”
He announced a high-level consultation with transport cooperative leaders on Wednesday to identify deployment, financing, and route management bottlenecks.
“My task is to remove every obstacle preventing our cooperatives from putting their vehicles back on the road,” Guadiz said.
The meeting aims to craft a roadmap addressing financing barriers, access to credit for vehicle repairs or replacements, and improved coordination among cooperatives with overlapping routes.
Guadiz, who previously headed the LTFRB and LTO, said his background in both law and banking gives him a deeper understanding of the sector’s financial and operational challenges.
“[Cooperatives] are the backbone of rural and urban mobility. As a banker, I understand their financial struggles; as a regulator, I understand their operational ones,” he said. “My mission is to unite both perspectives to bring real, lasting solutions.”
He also outlined his long-term goal to expand cooperatives’ access to credit, professionalize management, and strengthen financial resilience.
“Our people deserve a transport system that works — every day, everywhere. We can no longer allow inefficiency to masquerade as shortage,” he said. “Through cooperation and sound management, we will restore order and bring comfort back to the Filipino commuter.”