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A transport group on Tuesday said it wants a memorandum circular issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) which extends the deadline for phasing out traditional jeepneys until June 30 to be scrapped or suspended.

In an interview with dzBB, Mar Valbuena, National President of Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (Manibela), said they will not agree to have talks with the Department of Transportation (DoTr).

“If they do not scrap or suspend this, then we have nothing to talk about. And I think they are not sincere if they don’t,” Valbuena said.

Asked whether Manibela would continue the week-long protest starting March 6 to 13, Valbuena said: “We have no choice but to let them feel what it would be like without the traditional jeepney and UV Express. We want to see and feel the kind of service that we give to the public that they will suddenly just take away.”

“What’s worse is that we will leave our vehicles in front of LTFRB. Anyway, we cannot use it anymore. You say it’s rotten and gives off too much smoke. It’s all yours. You can take it wherever you want to,” he added.

Valbuena claimed 40,000 jeepneys and UV Express will not take to the streets for a week starting March 6.

In an ambush interview at Manila Hotel, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the department is open to the possibility of moving the June 30 deadline.

The LTFRB earlier approved Memorandum Circular 2023-013 which states that individual operators of traditional jeepneys will only be allowed to ply after June 30 if they join a cooperative.

Valbuena said they have not received a message from Bautista on when they plan to have a dialogue.

“Why doesn’t he (Transport Secretary Bautista) just talk to us so we can understand the direction of their program? And why are they in such a hurry to take away our livelihood? So that his answer will be complete and he will be the one directly respond to us. Not beating around the bush,” he said.

“President Ferdinand Marcos promised us there won’t be a phase-out. But he hasn’t even been in his post for a year and we’re already being phased out,” he added.

According to Valbuena, they have formed a cooperative in 2021 but it was not accepted because an existing cooperative was covering their route.

“We have already established it (transport cooperative) long before but it was not accepted because they said another cooperative in our route had complied (with the requirements) first. Why did they (LTFRB) ask us to form cooperatives if they are not going to accept it?” Valbuena said.

“They are just fooling us. What happened was that before, each association established a cooperative. One cooperative has a monopoly of the different routes. Why did the LTFRB allow this? That’s what hurts. That’s why we are seething with rage. Besides phasing us out, they wasted our efforts. They just made us go round and round that’s why this is what happened to us,” he added.

Valbuena urged LTFRB to be understanding to traditional jeepney operators,

“It’s not a joke to form a transport cooperative. This has a corresponding fund. When you try to comply with this requirement, every time you have to return to an agency you always have to spend money. I wish they understood that. Why are they in a hurry? Traditional jeepney drivers just earn spare change. We do not earn millions or hundred of thousands of pesos,” he said over dzBB.

Valbuena also said that cooperatives could take advantage of jeepney operators by imposing high membership fees.

“The membership fee isn’t standardized. It would keep rising, depending on how long the cooperative has been established…Of course, since operators don’t have a choice, this gives the cooperatives a chance to increase their funds by collecting higher membership fees,” he said.

“Now, if we join the existing cooperative that was consolidated, there is an equivalent membership fee. Since we are in a tight spot, they will impose a higher membership fee. You can either join or don’t. If you don’t, you lose your franchise,” he added.

He said it would be a huge help if the government would resort to a more affordable prototype of the modern jeepney and would subsidize some of their expenses in the modernization program. Jaspearl Tan/DMS