Senator Grace Poe has requested the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to provide information on how it utilized the three-month extension for the public utility vehicle consolidation deadline.

This was after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the three-month extension for PUV operators and drivers to consolidate themselves into cooperatives or corporations would no longer be extended.

“We acknowledge the 30 April deadline set for the PUV consolidation. But we want to know how productive the three-month extension has been,” Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services said in a statement.

“Have there been fruitful dialogues between the LTFRB and transport groups? Were there substantial efforts to reach out to the drivers and operators to help them get into the program?” she added.

Poe also questioned whether the apprehensions of PUV operators and drivers about the loans and other financial aspects of the program were eased.

For context, the government only subsidizes P210,000 to P280,000 of the P2.5 million cost of a new Euro-4 PUV model, making it difficult for ordinary jeepney drivers to procure a modern unit.

As the deadline on 30 April approaches, Poe expressed hope that the LTFRB “will release ahead of the deadline the list of routes with and without consolidated jeepneys.”

“We can’t just leave our commuters scampering for rides, especially under this extreme heat,” she said.

Likewise, the lawmaker said that she is looking forward to the final verdict of the Supreme Court on the appeal of transport groups.

“This will help enlighten concerned agencies on the path to take on the so-called modernization of our PUV fleets,” she said.

In March, the high court dismissed a petition from transport groups, led by Bayyo Association Inc., challenging the constitutionality of the PUV modernization program due to technicalities.

In the same month, the transport groups filed a motion for reconsideration, hoping that the Supreme Court would find merit in their arguments.

The consolidation deadline for public utility vehicles, previously scheduled on 31 January, was extended by Marcos until 30 April.