FIRST SAY:
The confidential and intelligence funds of government agencies for the proposed 2025 budget are lower by 16 percent — from PHP12.3 billion for 2024 to just PHP10.286 billion next year.
“We just limit it in the departments and agencies that really need confidential and intelligence funds,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said.
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In a matter of days, the euphoria felt by the officers and members of Manibela group of drivers and operators following the request of 22 senators to President Bongbong Marcos to stay the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) faded and was replaced by severe disappointment.
This was because PBBM had rejected the Senate resolution to suspend the PUVMP, pointing out that the program had been postponed seven times already.
Mar Valbuena, the left-leaning president of Manibela, threatened the government with the 3-day strike thus: "This is not a threat or a condition. We are asking to continue our livelihood."
Valbuena announced that the strike would start on Aug. 14 if there is no clear directive from Malacanang, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) or the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on what should be done with the traditional jeepney operators.
To be fair, the Bongbong Marcos administration did not initiate this transport modernization program; it just took over from where the previous Duterte administration left off. The PUVMP actually started in 2017.
The woke masters and environmentalists in Europe and North America, along with the bosses in the World Economic Forum (WEF) wanted to reduce pollution and global warming. And just like their other advocacies, they wanted the whole world to comply.
These people will stop at nothing to reduce carbon emissions, and so they decided to replace our traditional jeepneys with modern units that have Euro 4-compliant engines. This may be good for Filipinos who have long suffered from dirty and polluted air in our streets, but for the cost of modern jeepneys. A compliant unit would cost over P2 million and operators who are after all small businessmen would need bank loans and consolidation into cooperatives to afford these units.
Those who have the money and those who are always ahead in following new government orders and directives crossed the bridge and consolidated their businesses. One reason is that they fear losing their only means of livelihood because the LTFRB has repeatedly issued warnings that traditional jeepneys and those who did not consolidate will be flagged down and arrested.
According to the LTFRB, the public utility vehicles that did not consolidate after April 30 would be considered operating without a franchise.
This announcement was later modified last July when the agency said that unconsolidated jeepneys and UV Express units would be allowed to operate in over 2,500 routes with a low number of consolidation.
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No clear guidelines
Although the program requires individual PUV operators to consolidate their franchises into cooperatives or corporations, Valbuena and his senator-patrons pointed out that there are still no clear guidelines on the operation of traditional jeepneys.
The Manibela president questioned the basis for route rationalization, even as he asked the government to assist the drivers and operators in accessing funds for the acquisition of modern units, if indeed the program will push through.
Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who now heads the Senate committee on public services, has convinced all his colleagues (except the high priestess of wokeness Risa Hontiveros) to sign his resolution asking for the suspension of the program.
The senators noted that the government's information drive on the PUVMP is insufficient, aside from "the burden of financing the cost of modern PUVs, which greatly exceeds the financial capacity of drivers and operators."
I beg to disagree with the senators about their observation on the information campaign of the modernization program. If the government has failed, the private media, both social and traditional, have been very effective in disseminating information about the program--especially during the last six years.
Also, the law-abiding businessmen who risked going into debt just to comply with the program have good reason to be wary, and are in fact restive enough to conduct a walking protest if the senators, Manibela and their ilk would have the upper hand in the resolution of this problem.
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