President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said there will be no extension to the deadline for jeepney drivers and operators to register under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program or PUVMP.

Marcos made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter), effectively denying drivers' and operators' repeated requests for the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to scrap its 31 December consolidation deadline and for the "complete removal" of the PUVMP. 

"We cannot let the minority cause further delays," Marcos said. "Currently, 70 percent of all operators have already committed to and consolidated under the PUVMP. This program promises numerous benefits for the majority of our operators, banks, financial institutions, and the public at large."

The PUVMP will phase out old and worn PUVs and replace them with modern, more environmentally friendly, and efficient units. The program also seeks to improve the working conditions of drivers and operators.

Last week, transport group PISTON declared its plan to lead another transportation strike on 14-15 December to protest the PUVMP. Last month, PISTON and another transport organization, MANIBELA, held a five-day transport strike.

The November transport strike fizzled out, however, after the government gave free rides to commuters.

Under current PUVMP rules, individual jeepney operators who don't form cooperatives or corporations by the end of the year will forfeit their operating rights.

PISTON said that should the year-end deadline remain, "around 80 percent of PUV operators and a substantial number of drivers would be displaced by the year's end."

The government, however, has maintained that the deadline is essential to successfully implementing the PUVMP.

"We cannot move the scheduled timeline," Marcos said. "Adhering to the current timeline ensures that everyone can reap the benefits of fully operationalizing our modernized public transport system."