Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero said on Wednesday that the government should evaluate and study the physical condition of modern jeepneys, claiming that his personal experience has shown that they only last two years.
Citing his experience when he was still a Sorsogon governor, he said jeepneys "spoon-fed by the government to cooperatives" had become unusable after two years.
As such, Escudero stated that there is a need to investigate the jeepney modernization program, citing reports that some vehicles are prone to breakdowns and have been grounded due to a lack of spare parts.
He said that the only advantage is that spare parts from the broken modern jeepneys were taken and used in other units.
Moreover, the Senate is set to hear the modernization program on Friday, March 3 following a week-long transport strike called by several transportation groups.
The senator added that the evaluation should also include a "welfare check" on the participating drivers and operators to see if they have been able to meet amortization payments on units whose prices have been criticized as being higher than SUVs.
He also mentioned the lack of a mid-implementation assessment and a lack of checklists such as the Route Rationalization Plan, claiming that the Jeep replacement is only a part of modernization.
