ILOILO City – With the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) pressing forward, the traditional jeepney drivers of Iloilo are facing a critical deadline.
By April 30, all operators must have consolidated their franchises, a mandate that has sown seeds of uncertainty and worry among the community.
Ann Panizales, a veteran operator from Janiuay, Iloilo, who runs the Jaro CPU-Ungka (ITGSI)-City Proper route, is concerned about the potential loss of her jeepney unit.
“Our biggest worry is what will happen to us (operators) if we lose our units and franchises,” Panizales told Panay News.
The looming deadline threatens not just a business but a lifeline, thus on April 15 Panizales joined about 100 traditional jeepney operators in a protest led by the “No to PUV Phaseout Coalition”, urging a reconsideration of the April 30 cut-off.
The stakes are personal. Panizales said she bought her jeepney unit in 2015 for P350,000 after a stint overseas, and its daily earnings supported her through university, culminating in a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree. It also helped her put up her own pharmacy.
“That unit was the reason I finished my education, and losing it now would deprive us of our livelihood,” she explained.
Despite her efforts to adapt by joining the Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC) and paying P20,000 as membership fee, Panizales encountered obstacles. She said the cooperative’s failure to provide promised daily profits of P500 led her to reconsider her association.
“After years with the cooperative, we saw no profit or share given to us. Why should we join a coop if there are no benefits?” she asked, voicing a common frustration.
Panizales clarifies that she is not against jeepney modernization but she advocates for a return of jeepney franchises to operators and access to more affordable, modernized units.
The price tags, she points out, are steep at around P1 million per unit but still more attainable than those of minibuses, which are priced beyond reach for many at P2.8 million.
Echoing her sentiments, Henry Señeres from Santa Barbara, Iloilo, an operator for over three decades, also faces a decision. With no extension on the horizon, privatization of his two jeepney units – one servicing the Jaro CPU-City Proper route and the other the La Paz-La Granja-City Proper route – seems the next viable step.
“Naka-graduate ang akon mga kabataan – duha ka engineer kag isa ka seaman – tungod sang pagbiyahe ko,” said Señeres, who used to work in a private company but decided to resign then buy and operate his own jeepneys after saving enough to become a full-time jeepney operator.
It would be a waste to sell his units as scrap iron, he said.
“Converting them for private use would still allow us to utilize them,” according to Señeres, underscoring the broad impacts of the program.
He is also worried about his two drivers who would be economically displaced as well.
Señeres stressed he is all for jeepney modernization but he said independent jeepney operators should be allowed to continue and must be assisted by the government so they could modernize their units.
Similarly, Billy Demapiles from Barangay Tagbak, Jaro, Iloilo City considers drastic measures as he contemplates the future of a unit he might “scrap” if operating it becomes illegal post-May 1.
“If we can’t operate, what else can you do when you no longer have a franchise, and operating illegally isn’t an option?” Demapiles asked.
According to Depapiles, he was able to send his eldest child to Central Philippine University by driving jeepneys.
“Ulan kag init ang gina-antos namon asta nga makatapos sia. Dira kami sa jeep nagakuha sang source of income. Ti, may ikaduha ako nga bata, amo na gani gina-problema ko kay sa madasun nga tuig ma-college na tana. Laban-laban kon madula kami, indi na makapa-eskwela. Diin kami makuha kay amo na ang palangabuhian namon?” lamented Demapiles.
Bernabe Villaniza from Barangay Legaspi, Iloilo City (Proper) a 20-year veteran servicing the Jaro Liko NFA-City Proper route, also contemplates a shift to private use of his jeepney but admitted to being clueless if this is the right thing to do. He has three children aged 10, nine and four years old and all are going to school.
“Indi kami gusto magsulod sa coop. Bal-an man naton sa investigation sang Congress naggwa ang corruption,” said Villaniza.
For his part, 11-year jeepney operator/driver Bernard Gallego of Barangay Baldoza, La Paz, Iloilo City said he is worried that his family would go hungry.
His jeepney services the La Paz-Ticud route.
“Kargahan na lang namon sang bato kag baras. Wala na kami palangabuhian kag wala man kami kapital sa negosyo kay amo man lang ni ginasaligan namon,” said Gallego.
As these operators brace for their uncertain futures, they collectively appeal to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for an extension and address issues with transport cooperatives and corporations, giving them a chance to continue earning a livelihood./PN
