Continuing our piece on the controversial PUVMP, some say the government ultimatum had lapsed last 30 April. But my belief is that this government of President Marcos Jr. has ears and eyes wide open.

One argument against the jeepneys is their emissions. But common sense tells me that when we talk of reducing emissions, we should take note of the coal-fired power plants all over which are wreaking havoc on this part of the earth. But are those state officials concerned looking through the eye of the needle but not seeing the wide-open sky above their heads? I don’t know but they themselves can best answer that.

One thing that is ironic is that despite so many studies by past administrations, the Senate and the House of Representatives (where we spent hundreds of millions) pointing to the positive attributes of nuclear power, government officials except President Marcos Jr. are too indecisive and conservative if not totally blind to the benefits of nuclear power. That is if, indeed, the intent is to reduce carbon emissions.

So how will the proponents stand and defend in concrete terms their apparent prejudices and faulty arguments to phase out the iconic jeepneys on the issue of emissions?

The president of the National Land Transportation Council of the Philippines, Rogelio Chavez, shared with us that he doesn’t oppose the PUVMP but has strong reservations about its fallacies at the moment.

He fully supports pooling resources in a cooperative but he asks how come the supposed beneficiaries — the members, treasurers, drivers, mechanics as well as all other officers — don’t undergo proper and adequate training to ensure all the coops’ success. Aside from the CDA, Chavez said TESDA can provide the necessary trainings before embarking on the program. “Nauna ang kalesa sa kabayo,” he said. (The cart came before the horse.)

He cited too, among other things, the high, unaffordable cost of P2 million per new jeepney unit which he termed a “suntok sa buwan.” (Shot at the moon.)

Chavez said he is confident that local jeepney manufacturers, notably Francisco and Sarao, can do a good job given their decades of experience producing jeepneys. And they can comply with all the government specifications on safety, reliability, comfort and emission levels. And best of all, they can manufacture electric-powered units for less than a million pesos.

Meanwhile, Maharlika Investment Fund CEO Rafael D. Consing said earlier the MIF is willing to finance Filipino-made modern jeepneys, an assurance of government support for local entrepreneurs.

Chavez suggested that the transport coops maintain their own mechanics, gas stations and parts stores to ensure that prices are affordable and less of a burden to the coop members.

In a DAILY TRIBUNE report a couple of days ago, Senator Grace Poe was quoted as saying that “valid questions about the jeepney modernization program remain unresolved such as the price of the units, the source of funding, and the routes.”

“Wala namang tsuper ang ayaw magkaroon ng bagong jeepney na aircon, mas bago at environment-friendly. Pero kakayanin bang bayaran ang jeepney na higit isang milyon ang halaga? (No driver would not want to have a new air-conditioned and environmentally friendly jeepney. But will they be able to afford a jeepney worth more than a million pesos?)” she asked.

Myself, a former jeepney operator, I say that the cost will be impossible to recoup from mere “pamamasada” (fares) earnings. The government subsidy of under P200,000 would not even make a dent on the amount needed to pay the foreigner-manufacturers.

Poe projects a shortage of PUVs if the concerns about the modern jeepney units of various cooperatives are left unresolved. “It’s not too late for transportation officials to listen to the woes of the small drivers and operators,” she said.

Jonathan Gesmundo of the DoTR Communications Group sent me a message saying that since the 30 April deadline was firm, the next phase is to recycle the phased out jeepney units. You know a running jeepney unit costs P300,000-$400,000.

Hearing an official statement like that relegating the passenger units to scrap, which anyway you look at it is so embarrassing and infuriating to jeepney owners, I took it as a joke, a big joke. It smacks of insensitivity.

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