Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista asked transport groups to sit down and iron out the issues concerning the sector with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) before they stage a week-long transport strike.
Bautista said this in response to the planned transport strike starting on March 6.
In an interview with Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil, Bautista said the government and the transport organizations should at least discuss each other’s positions regarding the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.
“Dapat pag-isipan nating mabuti yung pag-stop ng operations. Dapat mag-usap-usap muna (We should think carefully about stopping operations. We should talk first),” he said on Monday, Feb. 27.
“Let’s understand what the issues are kasi baka hindi tayo nagkakaintindihan (because we just might be misunderstanding each other),” he added.
Bautista proposed a dialogue between the stakeholders, such as transport operators and representatives from the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
“Ang problema yata ay hindi nagkaroon ng representatives ang DOTr doon sa mga discussions para ma-clarify kung anuman ‘yung mga issues (I think the problem was there were no DOTr representatives in the discussions to clarify issues),” he said.
“I have already instructed the Undersecretary for Road Sector to coordinate with the LTFRB and with the operators,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bautista clarified that they are giving ample time to transport groups to muster enough funds to buy new units for their operations in line with the government’s PUV modernization program.
The DOTr chief pointed out that there would be no phase-out of old PUV units in areas where groups could not acquire new units for their designated routes.
In places were the drivers find it very hard to acquire new equipment, Bautista said the DOTr would give the operators time to join cooperatives to help them get the necessary equipment.
He added that the DOTr has been working closely with the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines to help transport groups and cooperatives finance modernized transport units’ acquisition.
