Transport group submits position paper to LTFRB

By NITZ ARANCON
and LITO RULONA
Correspondents

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-10 Regional  Director Aminoden Guro welcomed the picketers from the Solidarity of Transport Associations in Region 10-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Starex-Piston) yesterday and invited the group for a dialogue inside his office.

Guro received the position paper on the government’s jeepney modernization program handed by Ringo Lago, Starex-Piston secretary-general for Northern Mindanao at the picket line.

“I respect their call and there should be a consultation to be made between us and the protesting party. Dili na kita anang protesta kinahanglan kini pagasabutan. We made initial talks on the issue og medyo nakasabot na siya (Lago),” he said.

He said the jeepney modernization program is long overdue.

“What we need is a safe and environment-friendly public utility vehicle. Ang gobyerno karon mohatag og tabang alang sa tanan nga affected,” he added.

In their position paper, Starex-Piston demanded government to scrap the program as it will affect the livelihood of thousands of jeepney drivers and operators. The group also appealed for government to grant them a P6-per-liter fuel discount in line with the newly implemented Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law.

Guro assured the picketers that the full implementation of the jeepney modernization program will be in 2021.

“Don’t worry, taas pa kaayo ang panahon” Guro told Lago inside his office.

However, Guro claimed that they wanted to implement the “Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok” campaign of the government against dilapidated and smoke-belching public utility vehicles will continue despite the appeal of Starex-Piston.

Lago, for his part, said they too want a safe and environment-friendly jeepneys.

“Ayohon lang usa namo ang among mga unit. Dili kanang ilang programa nga Tanggal Bulok, Tangal Osok kay dili man kami maka-afford pagpalit anang bag-ong makina nga Euro 4 kay million man ang kandtidad ana,” Lago said.

he jeepney modernization program according to Guro which was launched last June, aims to phase out jeepneys over 15 years old and replace these with vehicles with “low-carbon and low-emission technology.”

LTFRB recorded in 2017 that there are around 204,000 jeepneys operating nationwide, with an estimated 75 percent of these over 15 years old.

Starex-Piston and other transport groups are against the program, saying hundreds of thousands of jeepney drivers and operators could lose their livelihood.