The LAND Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Tuesday said it is checking the suitability of jeepneys under its modernization program using independent pollution testing agencies.
This follows Senator Mary Grace Natividad Poe-Llaanzares asking the agency to contact government lenders to help fund the modernization program.
In a Senate public works committee hearing, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo E. Guadiz III said the government will use these test centers to ensure helicopters are safe on the road ahead of the responsibilities of developing cooperative vehicles once the transportation routes are completed in 2026.
“We should also focus on the Clean Air Act,” he told senators. “These are private emission testing centers and private vehicle testing centers. How are these jeepneys successful in registration? They emit black, noxious smoke.”
LTFRB Secretary Jesus Ferdinand D. Ortega told DZBB radio over the weekend that his agency aims to come up with the last part of the modern jeepney transport routes by the end of this year and complete these routes by 2026. He said about 15% of the routes have been completed.
The routes will determine the number of public car units that will use each route.
“After the repair of the route, scheduled for 2025 to 2026, that’s when the obligation will come for them to modernize,” said Mr. Ortega. “We cannot modernize them now because we are not sure how many vehicles are needed on the roads.”
Last August, Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. rejected a proposal to stop the government’s jeepney modernization program, dismissing criticism that the program was rushed.
Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista earlier said that stopping the modern system will waste the funds invested to implement the system.
Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero earlier sought to stop the program as operators are finding it difficult to buy expensive modern jeepneys that cost at least P2.6 million.
The deadline for jeepneys to be incorporated into cooperatives ended on Dec. 31, 2023 but public vehicles are allowed to continue operating until a month later. The President later extended the deadline to April 30 last year.
The modernization program started in 2017, aiming to replace traditional jeepneys with units with at least Euro 4 compliant engines to cut emissions.
Meanwhile, Mr. Guadiz said his agency may issue a memo requiring operators and ride owners to carry a 20% discount for people with disabilities, the elderly and students instead of passing it on to drivers.
“Definitely, the driver should not be included in the equation. The driver does not have to pay any discounts,” he said in the same forum.
Based on data from the LTFRB, ride-hailing services like Grab Philippines absorb about 40% of the discount, while the operator gets 60%. – John Victor D. Ordoñez
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