By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent
A LEADER of the National Confederation for Transport Union (NCTU) yesterday sounded alarm bells over a plan by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to phase out public jeepneys that are 15 years and older.
NCTU vice chairman for Mindanao Joel Gabatan said the plan, if fully implemented, would mean phasing out all public jeepneys in the country because the engines used for the vehicles are “all surplus.”
“Halos tanang PUJ dinhi sa Pilipinas nag-gamit ug engine nga 4BE-1, 4BC-1 ug 4BC-2. Kini nga klasi sa engine, surplus man kini gikan sa Japan. Wala may bag-o ani,” Gabatan said.
The DOTC is planning to phase out the old public jeepneys throughout the country starting on January next year.
In an Oct. 15 memorandum, DOTC Assistant Secretary for Planning and Finance Sherielysse Bonifacio asked Land Transportation Office (LTO) Assistant Secretary Alfonso Tan Jr., and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Winston Ginez to comment on the plan of DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya to phase out and modernize the public jeepney industry.
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
