IN a most disappointing development, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) went full catamite in the face of a threatened transport strike by activist jeepney drivers, set to begin tomorrow, March 6, and changed the deadline for compliance with the long-delayed Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) from June 30 to December 31. In a comment on Friday, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista even meekly implied there is a possibility the entire initiative might be scrapped, telling the media, "We can still use the old design [of traditional jeepneys]."
Whether things change between when this column is being written (mid-morning Friday) and when it is published on Sunday is still up in the air, but at this point, the government's efforts to placate the jeepney bullies have apparently been inadequate, as the leaders of the transport groups have said they will go ahead with their strike.
Continue reading with one of these options:
Ad-free access
P 80 per month
(billed annually at P 960)
- Unlimited ad-free access to website articles
- Limited offer: Subscribe today and get digital edition access for free (accessible with up to 3 devices)