3 Negros groups unite vs ‘World Bank-DOTr scheme’ on transport modernization

• Three transport groups in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, representing over 3,000 jeepney operators, are protesting against the World Bank and DOTr's Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), fearing it will eliminate traditional jeepneys.
• The PTMP aims to replace traditional jeepneys with modernized units, but operators are concerned about the financial burden and lack of feasibility studies, as well as the potential scrapping of their vehicles.
• Transport leaders are calling for legal challenges against the program and seeking intervention from local officials, emphasizing their commitment to fight for their rights and livelihoods.

This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors.

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Three transport groups in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, representing over 3,000 traditional jeepney operators and drivers, have united against a joint scheme by the World Bank and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that they say is poised to completely wipe them off the streets.

As they spoke up against the project, they intensified their protests at the start of a five-day Electric Vehicle Summit that kicked off at Ayala Malls Capitol Central in Bacolod on Monday, October 26.

On Thursday, October 22, they also staged a walkout at a World Bank–DOTr dialogue at Seda Hotel-Bacolod and held a surprise protest outside the hotel.

They condemned what they labeled as choreographed but nonsensical dialogue, designed just to please them into supporting the World Bank-DOTr  transport modernization scheme.

These groups are:

• Bacolod Alliance of Communters Operators and Drivers in Negros Island – Samahang Manibela, Mananakay at Nagkakaisang Termina ng Transportasyon (BACODNO-MANIBELA)
• Kabakod Negros Transport Coalition (KNETCO)
• United Drivers and Operators Center-Pinakaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (UNDOC-PISTON)

Previously, they were known as fragmented transport groups in the province and its capital, Bacolod.

But faced with the proposed World Bank-DOTr Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), they were left with no alternative but to unite, or else they would be completely wiped off the streets.

PTMP is the rebranded version of the 9-year-old Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), which was originally implemented through DOTr Department Order No. 2017-011.

The PUVMP appears to be failing, having incurred a massive debt of approximately P5 billion with the Landbank of the Philippines (LBP) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as the primary government lending institutions for the program.

Under the PUVMP, traditional jeepneys will be gradually phased out across the country and replaced by modernized units equipped with Euro 4-compliant engines.

Since each unit of a modernized jeepney costs more than P2 million, operators were required to form a cooperative before they could apply for a loan from the LBP or DBP.

In Negros Occidental, however, eight of the 11 transport cooperatives under the Bacolod Modernized Jeepney Transport Association (BMJTA) are facing significant issues.

A total of 329 units of modernized jeepneys belonging to the BMJTA are in danger of being repossessed by either the LBP or the DBP.

But under the PTMP, the World Bank is ready to extend loans—not to cooperatives, but to well-established transport companies and corporations with sterling performance records—to become the next operators of modernized jeepneys in the Philippines.

With PTMP, all modernized jeepneys will be upgraded from standard Euro 4 engines to Euro 4L-equipped units.

Under this scheme, three traditional jeepneys will be replaced with one unit of a Euro 4L-compliant modernized jeepney.

Once all hindrances are cleared, the DOTr will pilot the PTMP in five highly urbanized cities in the country, including Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Baguio and General Santos, and in the National Capital Region (NCR).

In a press conference on Monday, October 26, Rudy Catedral, president of BACODNO-MANIBELA, however, said they are opposed to the program at all costs.

“It is the same intention, but this time, the DOTr is just masquerading as the World Bank to cover up its failed PUVMP,” Catedral emphasized. “PTMP will wipe us all out—it will ‘kill’ us all.”

For KNETCO president Lilian Sembrano, it is premature to fully roll out these modernized public utility vehicles—whether Euro 4L-compliant or fully electric (EV)—given the lack of guarantees regarding their capacity, reliability, and sustainability.

“But if the DOTr is really sincere about the PTMP, then they have to pilot it in areas without transport service entities (TSEs) for a year so we will know how effective the EVs to be funded by the World Bank are,” the KNETCO president said.

However, mixing those EVs with existing routes covered by TSEs will only complicate the situation, she added.

Greatest fear

But Sembrano said their greatest fear is that under the PTMP, the DOTr will designate a scrapping center where traditional jeepneys will be hauled and demolished.

“Then, our traditional jeeps will be brought to a  scrapping center? Gosh! What will happen to our treasured assets? Will they be junked, will they be shredded? Sakit naman (it hurts),” she added.

Sembrano stated that because the PUV Modernization Program is mandated only through a DOTr department order rather than a law, they intend to challenge it legally.

“We will fight for our rights. We will fight for our families,” she said.

Sembrano asked Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya to help them by intervening in the negotiation between the World Bank and the DOTr.

“Why force us to succumb to modernization when we cannot afford the P3 million to P4 million unit price of the modernized jeep to be financed by the World Bank?” Sembrano asked. “Can’t we focus on rehabilitation first?”

“Besides,” she added, “there’s no feasibility study presented to them about PTMP. So, are we ready for another mistake like the failed PUVMP?”

Rodolfo Gardoce, Jr., president of UNDOC-PISTON, said they will not hesitate to hold a massive “untat byahe” (stop the trip) at any time once the planned scheme of World Bank and DOTr pushes through.

Gerry Llena, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional director for Negros Island, told Rappler on Monday that he has yet to hear both sides of the issue.

“But the allegation that three traditional jeepneys will be junked in exchange for one modernized unit under the PTMP is just a myth,” he said.

“We are guided by the so-called Local Public Transport Route Plan  (LPTRP), so we cannot just scrap jeepney units, or else we will face an even greater shortage,” he added. – Rappler.com