ILOILO City – Militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN)-Panay slammed the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. for pressing on with the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), calling it a “failed and anti-people policy” that has devastated livelihoods, burdened commuters, and benefitted only foreign suppliers and corrupt transport cooperatives.
“Instead of easing transportation woes, the PTMP and its local counterpart, the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) and enhanced LPTRP (eLPTRP), have destroyed the lives of drivers and operators and made commuting more expensive and inconvenient,” said Elmer Forro, secretary-general of BAYAN-Panay.
Forro noted that Iloilo City has become the “guinea pig” of the full implementation of the program, which was rolled out in 2023 and expanded in May 2024.
He said the eLPTRP limited traditional jeepneys to only 40 percent of trips during peak hours and 25 percent during regular hours, while banning first-town jeepneys from the Iloilo provincial towns of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, and Santa Barbara from entering the city.
According to BAYAN-Panay, around 1,500 jeepney units — supporting more than 3,000 drivers and 12,000 dependents — have lost their main source of income due to shortened routes and restrictions.
“Thousands of students and workers are forced to pay more, wait longer, or even walk long distances just to reach their destinations. This program has increased daily fares by P12 to P40 for ordinary commuters,” Forro said.
Market vendors in Iloilo Terminal Market and Jaro Market have also suffered, he added, since fewer jeepneys now pass directly through these trading areas.
“These added burdens come at a time when prices of basic goods are already rising, while wages remain low,” Forro stressed.
The group further criticized the government for favoring imported minibuses under the program, which Forro said are “already deteriorating and hard to repair due to lack of spare parts.”
Forro emphasized that drivers, operators, and commuters had long opposed the program and pushed for government-subsidized rehabilitation of existing jeepney units instead.
“Even Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon has admitted the program is ‘not viable,’ yet the Marcos regime continues to impose it, refusing to consider community-driven alternatives,” he said./PN
