LTFRB: 3 of 4 of PISTON's major demands 'doable'

Members of the transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) conduct a strike at the Monumento Circle in Caloocan City on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, to oppose the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. PISTON said the strike will go on until Nov. 23. JAMES AGUSTIN/GMA Integrated News

Most of the major requests of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) regarding the PUV Modernization Program could be done, according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Tuesday.

Interviewed on Unang Balita, LTFRB spokesperson Celine Pialago said the three demands that are doable are the waiving of penalty, extension of franchise of up to five years, and the relieving of some of the provisions of the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG).

“Doable ang tatlong ‘yun. Ang hindi lang doable ay ang pag-drop ng consolidation process. Pero ang kapalit naman no’n ay ang process can be simplified,” she said.

(Those three are doable. The only thing that is not doable is the dropping of the consolidation process. But the process can be simplified.)

PISTON is currently holding a three-day nationwide strike — from November 20 to 22 — to protest the government’s PUV Modernization Program, particularly the December 31 deadline given to jeepney operators for consolidation.

LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said Monday that the LTFRB will be “studying” PISTON’s demands and said they are open to offer a five-year franchise to jeepney operators as part of their negotiations.

The transport group, however, argued that jeepney drivers and operators can no longer wait for the LTFRB “study” as the year-end deadline for the consolidation of traditional jeepneys is just around the corner.

“Lahat ‘pinag-aaralan’. Pinasimple na natin ang ating demands — tanggalin ang deadline, tanggalin ang consolidation, ibasura ang phaseout. Ang sagot ng LTFRB, puro ‘pag-aaralan’, puro paasa,” PISTON said.

(The LTFRB said it would ‘study’ our demands. We have already simplified our terms — remove the deadline, the consolidation, and the jeepney phaseout. The LTFRB just answered they would ‘study’ the matter. They are just giving us false hopes.)

Pialago said the waiver of the penalty for drivers and operators can be done this month.

“‘Yung waiver of penalty, every year merong confirmation fee ang mga tsuper, nasa P1,000 ito. Base sa datos ng LTFRB, meron mga operators na almost P5,000 to P10,000 na ang kanilang penalty. ‘Yung confirmation, ito ang binibigay sa LTO (Land Transportation Office) bago sila magparehistro. Dati wala pang connectivity ang LTO at LTFRB. So hindi na nila dinadaanan ang confirmation. Ngayong merong connectivity na, nakita na meron na silang violation,” she explained.

(As to the waiver of penalty, every year, the drivers have a confirmation fee worth P1,000. Based on LTFRB data, there are operators whose penalty has reached P5,000 to P10,000. The confirmation is given to the LTO before they register. Before, the LTO and LTFRB did not have connectivity, so drivers did not confirm. Now that there is connectivity, we have seen that some have violations.)

According to the LTFRB, around 70% of PUV operators have already complied with the modernization program. —KBK, GMA Integrated News

This article LTFRB: 3 of 4 of PISTON’s major demands ‘doable’ was originally published in GMA News Online.