The COVID pandemic has led to massive income losses for Filipinos.\nThe Duterte administration suspended mass transport, including jeepneys, when\nthe enhanced community quarantines (ECQ) in Luzon and other parts of the\ncountry were declared in March. Quarantine measures have eased in general\ncommunity quarantine (GCQ) areas and public transport has resumed in\nphases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The government is attempting to usher economic activity back but\npublic utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers keep getting left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lost income and jeepney modernization program<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Three months into the pandemic, the social welfare department\nreported some 36,200 jeepney drivers of over 200,000 nationwide getting cash\naid under Bayanihan 1. Even so, many jeepney drivers only received one tranche\nof the Php5,000-8,000 of social amelioration. IBON estimated that around\n55,000-70,000 jeepney drivers in Metro Manila each lost an average of Php26,000\nper month of lockdown over the first three months of suspended mass transport\nfor a total of Php78,000 each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When quarantine measures eased, the Department of Transportation\n(DOTr) prioritized modernized jeepneys in resuming operations in Metro Manila\nwhich left most PUJ drivers still unable to operate. More traditional jeepneys\nhave recently been allowed back on their routes but physical distancing\nprotocols make them operate on just half-capacity and, thus, their earnings are\nalso halved accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PUJ sector along with other vulnerable sectors have been\ncalling for additional aid as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. However,\nalthough the government is moving to gradually resume economic activity, it is\nallocating less and less for emergency subsidies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The Php5.58 billion in aid promised PUJ and transport network\nvehicle (TNV) drivers under Bayanihan 2, for instance, only means an average of\nPhp116-225 per driver per day* spread across four subsequent months of lockdown\nsince the expiration of Bayanihan 1 in June 30. The 2021 proposed national\nbudget allocation for overall emergency aid is even smaller at just Php9.9\nbillion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DOTr announced that it was doubling the subsidy for jeepney\noperators switching to modernized jeepneys from Php80,000 to Php160,000.\nHowever, this is still not enough as modernized jeepneys cost around Php1.6-2.2\nmillion each. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The slow modernization of jeepneys is also a sign that the program\nis failing. During the 2019 budget hearing of the DOTr, it was reported that\nthe jeepney modernization program was only able to modernize 1.5% of its\ninitial target more than two years after it started. Thus, the DOTr took a step\nback on the jeepney modernization program and said that it will allow old\njeepneys on the roads provided they pass \u201croadworthiness\u201d standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Transport budget for infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The DOTr is proposing a Php143.1 billion budget for\n2021. Of this, Php112.8 billion are capital outlays for railways, seaports and\nairports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of this, Php96.2 billion will be funded by ODA.\nSpecifically, this ODA funding will cover the rail transport program or the\nconstruction of the Metro Manila Subway Project Phase 1, North-South Commuter\nRailway System, and Philippine National Railway (PNR) South Long-Haul Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the government was sincere about its jeepney modernization\nprogram not displacing so many drivers and small operators, it could have\nincreased the subsidy for this program. The government counterpart funding for\nthese 3 railway infrastructure projects is worth Php12.6 billion. This could\nhave been an additional Php181,000 jeepney modernization subsidy if shared\namong 70,000 jeepney drivers in Metro Manila. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n While these expansive mass transport projects will provide faster\ntrips across longer distances, Filipinos still rely on jeepneys as a mode of\ntransportation for short distances or the first or last miles. Increasing\nsubsidies for jeepney modernization is actually a win for both the government\nand jeepney drivers with the government taking strides towards its goal and\njeepney drivers keeping their livelihood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keyword: Pandemic<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Because of the coronavirus crisis, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) issued Memo Circular 2020-017 which only allows modernized jeepneys and traditional jeepneys under a corporation or cooperative to operate. This leaves out small jeepney operators and drivers. Unlike big corporate fleet operators, they can ill-afford the costly modernized jeepneys, or even the fees and requirements to form a cooperative. They are even less able today after months of lost incomes and depleted savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government should prioritize subsidizing small jeepney drivers\nand operators and at least postpone costly infrastructure projects that are\nless urgent because of the pandemic. More railways, seaports, and airports\nmight always seem like a good thing. However, it has always been questionable\nif these deliver the best economic and development returns for the huge\nspending on them and the increased debt taken out. Certainly, the emerging\nneeds of vulnerable sectors because of the pandemic should be a more pressing\nuse for scarce funds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Duterte administration should support drivers and operators\nwith emergency subsidies for upgrading or replacing their units to meet safety,\nhealth and environmental standards. Getting them back on the road will\ncontribute to spurring economic activity. It will also increase the mobility of\nthe working people who are the most crucial elements in economic recovery.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" FEATURES<\/p>\n The government should prioritize subsidizing small jeepney drivers and operators and at least postpone costly infrastructure projects that are less urgent because of the pandemic. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":10402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-withbanner.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2048,3],"tags":[2347,347,144,2040,1106,2292,1847,2375],"class_list":["post-10397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banner","category-features","tag-2021-budget","tag-duterte-administration","tag-infrastructure","tag-infrastructure-budget","tag-jeepney-modernization","tag-jeepney-drivers","tag-national-budget","tag-transport-budget","wpautop"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-23 17:26:57","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10397"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10405,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10397\/revisions\/10405"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibon.org\/tl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}