LEADERS of the country’s various transport organizations is calling for a direct meeting with President Marcos Jr. and Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla to address the many problems that continue to plague the land transportation industry.
In a statement, the ‘Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators ng Pilipinas’ (LTOP) headed by Orlando ‘Ka Lando’ Marquez, said corruption on the streets and the unabated proliferation of unregistered or ‘Colorum’ vehicles – from motorcycle taxis to ‘TNVS’ (transport network vehicle service) using computer applications “Apps”)— continue to sow havoc on the livelihood of legitimate operators and drivers and even threatens to kill the government’s ‘Public Utility Motor Vehicle Modernization Program’ (PUVMP).
Marquez said while they commend President Marcos for appointing Atty, Vigor Mendoza last October 10 to head the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), their problems, especially corruption and the complex issue of Colorum proliferation now directly need Palace intervention.
Mendoza was moved to the LTFRB from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) where he was replaced by former ambassador Marcus Lacanilao.
Marquez said they have great confidence with Mendoza whom they personally know and helped in winning a partylist seat in Congress during the 14TH Congress. Mendoza also previously served as a board member at LTFRB.
LTOP and other transport organizations had a meeting with Mendoza for consultation last October 16 where Mendoza vowed to address their concerns “within six months to one year,” Marquez said.
Corruption starts from the streets going up
Marquez, however, noted that other issues like mulcting cops and even mulcting barangay chairmen and barangay tanods are no longer within the control of Mendoza.
“What Chairman Mendoza can do from his end to stop extortion involving LTFRB personnel, he vowed to address,” Marquez said.
“But the police and barangay officials are under the control of Secretary Remulla of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).”
Marquez said they also has an initial talk with Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Atty. Giovannie ‘Banoy’ Lopez to “deputize” legitimate transport sector members in identifying Colorum vehicles plying their routes.
The matter, he said however, is still subject to another round of discussion.
Solution to Colorum
However, stamping out Colorum vehicles would revert back to the LTFRB and Malacañang, which remains mum on the still “experimental” nature of the TNVS program since 2017, a program that was supposed to end in 2022 or after 5 years.
The TNVS experiment was simultaneously launched with the PUVMP and now the experiment is about to kill the latter, Marquez warned.
From the 60,000 motorcycles accredited as ‘motorcycle taxis’ under TNVS, the number of those illegally plying as motorcycle taxis is more than 300,000, Marquez pointed out.
The PUVMP itself, immersed in controversy from the start, had already taken away some 14,700 traditional jeepneys off the streets, majority of them in Metro Manila, Marquez noted.
“Marami nang jeepney ang ‘ipinakilo’ na lang at ang mga drivers, naging karpintero na lang o pumasok sa ibang trabaho,” Marquez said at the ‘Prangkahan sa FlashTV’ program las October 16.
Quoting the records from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP)—the state banks tasked as financial windows for the program– Marquez claimed that “80 percent” of those who took out loans for the modernization of their jeepneys are now unable to meet their obligations due to the massive proliferation of Colorum vehicles.
Colorum vehicles, he averred, has taken away about 50 percent of the volume of passengers previously being served by legitimate land transport services—from registered tricycles to jeepneys and passenger buses.
Should this continue, the PUVMP would soon be declared a failure while leaving thousands of PUV drivers, operators and their families drowning in debt.
Adding to their woes, he noted, is the proliferation of ‘motorcycle taxis’ also under the TNVS experiment.
Even as the transport groups already protested the inclusion of 60,000 motorcycles, the number of those illegally plying as motorcycle taxis is more than 300,000, Marquez pointed out.
The Colorum problem has also seeped down to the barangay level, he noted.
While there are about 4.7 million tricycles registered nationwide servicing their communities, almost the same number of Colorum tricycles are also plying the streets, Marquez said.
In all of these, Marquez said they only has one question in mind: “Magkano?” (How much?).