ILOILO City – Transport groups under the No to PUV Phaseout Coalition, alongside PISTON-Panay and Manibela, staged a protest in front of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regional office in Jaro district, calling for the registration of unconsolidated traditional jeepneys or the issuance of provisional authority (PA) to allow them to continue operating.
According to Elmer Forro, one of the lead convenors of the coalition, thousands of unconsolidated traditional jeepneys, particularly in Bacolod City, have been forced to stop operations this year due to the lack of registration or PA, effectively classifying them as “colorum.”
Forro urged the LTFRB central office to permit these jeepneys to operate while the agency resolves the ongoing hearings related to the show cause orders issued against unconsolidated jeepneys last December 2025.
“We are calling for the registration of all traditional jeepneys and the granting of provisional authority while we follow due process on the show cause orders which, as of now, have yet to be resolved by the LTFRB central office,” Forro said.
He noted that while thousands of jeepneys remain unable to operate, only a few hundred have been issued show cause orders, and no resolution has been made regarding whether these units will be suspended or permanently banned from operating.
The show cause order requires operators or drivers to justify why their units should not be denied registration or PA.
“Only a small number have received show cause orders, yet we are already being declared ‘colorum’ and denied registration, which is wrong. We are following due process, including hearings and subpoenas, but no hearing has taken place yet. Why are we being denied registration? That is our argument — we should not yet be classified as ‘colorum’ since due process is still ongoing,” Forro stressed.
Forro also highlighted the economic impact of the halted operations, with many drivers and operators losing their livelihoods. He criticized the government for failing to provide alternative sources of income.
This situation has reinforced the coalition’s demand for the scrapping of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), which mandated the consolidation of traditional jeepneys into transport cooperatives or corporations.
Forro said they have already conducted multiple protests but will continue until their calls are heard by the government.
The protest on Friday, January 31, was part of a nationwide demonstration joined by transport groups from Metro Manila, Cebu, Bacolod City, and other parts of the country.
“Our livelihood continues to be taken from us, and the means of survival for the poor are being destroyed without any alternative solutions provided,” Forro lamented.
LTFRB’s Stance
The LTFRB has only granted extensions of PA until December 2025 for public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and utility vehicle express (UVE) units that have applied for consolidation.
Under Memorandum Circular (MC) 2024-043, which took effect on December 9, 2024, operators of PUVs who applied for consolidation under the PTMP were granted extended PA validity to continue operations while their franchise applications are pending.
The LTFRB reopened applications for consolidation for 45 days, from October 15 to November 29, 2024.
“After the April 30, 2024 deadline under MC 2024-01, the Board issued MC 2024-039 allowing Transport Service Entities (TSEs) to accept additional members until November 29, subject to the guidelines set forth in the said MC,” stated a portion of MC 2024-043.
The memorandum titled “Extension of Provisional Authority Issued Pursuant to the Public Transport Modernization Program” allows individual operators and TSEs with pending consolidation applications to continue operations until December 31, 2025, or until they receive their certificate of public convenience (CPC).
The LTFRB said the decision to extend PA validity was in response to the large volume of consolidation applications and amendment requests filed with its Central Office and Regional Franchising and Regulatory Offices.
“In light of the numerous applications for consolidation and amended requests filed with the LTFRB Central Office and its RFROs, there is a need to further extend the validity of the PAs issued by these offices in implementing the PTMP,” reads another excerpt from MC 2024-043.
The extension applies specifically to operators of PUJs and UVE services with pending or amended consolidation applications./PN
