Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III on Sunday expressed his optimism that the pending cases against the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) will also be junked by the Supreme Court.

"Base ho sa nangyaring desisyon ng Supreme Court, kung ito ho ang aming pagbabasehan, ako ho ay tiwala na ganoon din po ang mangyayari – ito ay ibabasura at ito po ay ibaba sa mga trial courts or sa Court of Appeal para po litisin iyong mga issues na idinulog po ng mga naghain ng petition kontra dito sa PUVMP (Based on the decision of the Supreme Court, I am confident that the remaining two petitions against PUVMP will also suffer the same fate),"Guadiz said.

Guadiz was referring to two more pending cases at the SC challenging the implementation of the modernization program. This was after SC junked the petition filed by Bayyo Association Inc. (Bayyo) last week, challenging the legality of the of the government.

The LTFRB chief said they welcome the decision of the Supreme Court, adding that "the court is recognizing the importance of the PUVMP in our efforts to modernize our public transport."

He, however, expressed that the LTFRB respects the transport group's next move to appeal the SC's decision.

Guadiz also reiterated that the PUVMP aims to provide a better, efficient, and safe transportation service to the Filipino people, dismissing claims that it would only cause negative effects to jeepney drivers and operators in the country.

He noted that it is high time the Philippines become at par with its neighboring countries in terms of public transport, emphasizing that the PUVMP is among the efforts needed to be done to achieve this.

"We need to modernize our jeepneys to make them safe and comfortable and accessible public transportation, and the only way to do that is to modernize our transportation system," Guadiz pointed out.

He disclosed that the consolidation of PUVs nationwide has reached 80 percent. In Metro Manila, 96 percent of the active jeepneys have applied for consolidation while 80 to 90 percent in the provinces.

Guadiz also clarified that the government cannot impose the kind of modern jeepneys operators must acquire, and that the program will give them ample time to have modern units.

He once again explained that operators can buy any model they opt for as long as it is compliant with the Philippine National Standard.