Senator Win Gatchalian urged the government to increase the subsidy provided under the modernization program for public utility vehicles.
During the recent Senate deliberation on the 2024 proposed budget of the Department of Transportation, Gatchalian said the program is pushing jeepney drivers to save a portion of income to pay for the modern vehicle.
The senator also lamented program was introduced at a time when fuel costs ranged from $20 to $30 per barrel.
Fuel prices have since increased to a range of $80 to $90 per barrel due to the Russian-Ukraine conflict, he stressed.
Meanwhile, Gatchalian said the DoTR should make sure all jeepney engines are at least Euro-4 and Philippine National Standards-compliant under the PUV modernization program.
"From the briefers that I read, the compliance rate right now is only at 60 percent and the allocation for the modernization for 2024 is zero. In other words, we compel them to modernize but we don't have any support to give them in the next few years," he said.
Gatchalian said increasing the subsidy should form part of the DOTr's strategy to achieve at least 100 percent modernization of the country's PUVs.
The DoTr earlier said one unit of modernized PUV costs P2.4 million to 2.8 million.
At the hearing, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista told the committee panel that the DoTr will continue giving equity subsidies to all PUV drivers and operators to help them replace the old units that they currently operate.
Bautista said they have already requested at least P1.6 billion fund for the program for next year.
Gatchalian cited the deadline for the modernization program was earlier suspended to allow individual jeepney operators to consolidate themselves into a cooperative.
The deadline for consolidation has been set for December 31 this year.
"It's a step towards the right direction that we are modernizing through the cooperatives," Gatchalian said.
DoTr earlier said that certain private sector groups are interested in venturing into manufacturing modernized PUVs "which could keep the cost in the lower end of the range."