President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon to raise to the maximum the insurance coverage of public utility vehicles (PUVs).

In a chance interview on Thursday, Dizon said the President has ordered the Department of Transportation to prioritize the safety of passengers, citing the recent fatal road mishaps.

“First of all, we know the President has repeatedly said that our priority is the safety of our passengers, and we saw the bad things that happened recently,” Dizon said.

“Some people died and some were seriously injured. So insurance is very important, and the President’s call is to completely increase the insurance,” he added.

Marcos also asked Dizon if PUVs could match the insurance policies of private vehicles.

The transportation chief said he will consult with stakeholders, as well as the relevant government agencies such as the Land Transportation Office and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board before implementing new policies.

“We need to talk to the industry carefully. The bus companies, the PUVs, of course, nothing is free in the world – some have to pay higher insurance premiums,” the DoTr chief explained.

“Now, we will see how that can be done and what regulations are possible. But the President said, and we agree with what he said, that is the President’s order, so we will do it,” he added.

While there is no concrete timeline yet, Dizon said the transportation department might be able to implement the improved PUV insurance policies within the year.

The DoTr said it will ask the operators and bus companies to shoulder the cost and not pass the burden to the commuting public.

“We need to balance that, but we will look at the ability of the operators and the bus companies to absorb that. Anyway, the fares are regulated. There are factors for the LTFRB to approve a fare increase or not,” Dizon said.

Colorum vehicles, or public transport vehicles that operate without the proper permits, remain a problem, according to Dizon.

However, the transportation secretary explained that vehicles must be insured before being registered at the LTO and should cover passengers in case of accidents, even if they are operating as a colorum.

Dizon has yet to push for the PUV modernization as there is no legislation currently mandating it. On the other hand, he thanked the lawmakers who are willing to file legislation in Congress.

He said the DoTr will fix the current problems that the PUV modernization program is facing before pushing for legislation.