ON May 16, 2022, I, along with my top management and staff from the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), met with officials from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and other government agencies to discuss, among others, updates on the government's Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP). Before we delve into the issues surrounding the project and our recommendations to address them, I would like to provide some perspective on Department Order 2017-011, or the 'Omnibus Guidelines on the Planning and Identification of Public Road Transportation Services and Franchise Issuance' of the Department of Transportation requiring local government units (LGUs) to submit their Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).

Right now, the government is doing something that it has never done before on such a wide scale. This is the first time that the LGUs are directly involved in the creation of the LPTRP of their respective localities. Prior to this, the creation of the LPTRP was centralized and given to a handful of government bureaucrats within the transportation sector. Thus, opening the process for the direct participation of the affected LGUs is a great effort toward transparency and inclusivity. Although we laud and support the inclusion of the LGUs and democratization of the process of the creation of the routes, something immediate must be done to address the huge delay in the implementation of the modernization program. It has become clear that there needs to be a transitory strategy to address the problem created by the failure of LGUs to submit their LTPRP on time as well as the certification and approval process within the LTFRB.