BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The Supreme Court has struck down an attempt to nullify certain provisions of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) that compel jeepney drivers and operators to replace their traditional units with modern ones.
In an en banc decision dated July 11, 2023, but was publicized only yesterday, the tribunal dismissed the petition for certiorari and prohibition for lack of legal standing by the petitioners to file the suit.
“In view of the petitioners’ lack of legal standing and their disregard of the doctrine of hierarchy of courts, the Court will not delve into the merits of the substantive arguments raised,” read the SC decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh.
However, the tribunal did not rule on the constitutionality of paragraph 5.2 of Department Order No. 2017-011 issued by the Department of Transportation, which mandates transport cooperatives to “modernize” and replace their old units with “brand new and environmentally-friendly units.”
Bayyo (Drivers and Operators) Association Inc. filed the petition before the tribunal against former Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, former secretaries Carlos Dominguez and Wendel Eliot, and lawyer Martin Delgra, former Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman.
The petitioner asked the high court to nullify certain provisions of the PUVMP “for being an invalid delegation of legislative power and a transgression of the due process and equal protection clauses of the 1987 Constitution.”
They also claimed that the order violates the “Filipino First Policy” enshrined in Article XII (National Economy and Patrimony), Sections 1 and 10 of the 1987 Constitution.
In dismissing the suit, the tribunal said the petitioners neglected the “doctrine of hierarchy of courts” when they filed their case directly to the high court, instead of the trial or appellate courts.
“This doctrine is not mere policy, rather, it is a constitutional filtering mechanism designed to enable the Court to focus on the more fundamental and essential tasks assigned to it by the highest law of the land,” the tribunal said.
The tribunal stressed it cannot simply rely on the bare and unsubstantiated allegations of the petitioners as to the supposed adverse effects of the questioned department order on the livelihood of PUJ operators and drivers.
“It is well to remember that the Court is not a trier of facts. Whether in its original or appellate jurisdiction, this Court is not equipped to receive and weigh evidence in the first instance. When litigants bypass the hierarchy of courts, the facts they claim before the Court are incomplete and disputed,” the SC ruled.
Launched in June 2018, PUV Modernization Program is the flagship, non-infrastructure project of former President Rodrigo Duterte. It seeks to phase out PUVs aged 15 years or older.
The program promises a “comfortable, safe, reliable, convenient, affordable and environmentally sustainable” public transportation system in the country.
This includes promotions of a “safer and more environmentally-friendly transport system,” wherein the government proponents are pushing to replace jeepneys with Euro 4-powered engines or electrically-powered engines with solar panels for roofs.
Under the program, drivers and operators are promised stable, sufficient, and dignified livelihoods while commuters get to their destinations quickly, safely, and comfortably.
Under the program, the local government units are empowered to draft their route planning considering they are more versed in the terrain and passenger demand within their respective territorial jurisdiction.
The government has been extending the deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) for the fifth time since 2022 supposedly to give more time to those drivers and operators who did not meet the deadline to consolidate.
This means that unconsolidated jeepneys and even UV Express nationwide may still be allowed to ply their usual routes until April 30, 2024.
“There will be no arrest on matters of the franchise,” declared Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III in a press conference a day after Marcos announced the April 30 extension.
The extension is already the fifth additional time for the jeepney drivers and operators to join or form their cooperative.
After the April 30 extension, those who still failed to consolidate will be considered “colorum.” Under the PUV Modernization Program, jeepneys and UV Express are mandated to either join or form a transport cooperative or corporation to continue their operations./PN
