Transport group MANIBELA on Friday, January 12, said the government was “anti-poor” for pushing the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization amid the lack of route rationalization for consolidated jeepneys.

“Ang gobyerno natin ngayon, sobrang anti-poor. Yung mga nakapag-consolidate nga, di nila mabigyan ng mga bagong unit,” MANIBELA chairperson Mar Valbuena told DZRH in an interview.

“Wala pa yung route rationalization, papaano makakabayad ang [mga] ito at bakit minamadali,” he added.

Valbuena underscored that they would lose their livelihood following the government’s insistence on the jeepney modernization.

“Igigiit namin na makapag-hanapbuhay kami. Mawawalan ng pagkakaitaan [...] Hahayaan mo bang makita na habang nakatayo ka, tumitirik ang mata sa gutom ng iyong pamilya,” he said.

The MANIBELA chair also questioned the mass production of modernized jeepneys, prompting doubts about whether it could achieve the needed number of vehicles that cooperatives could purchase.

“Sa isang kooperatiba, 15 units ang minimum na i-avail kapag nag-consolidate. Ito bang local manufacturers natin, out of 1,500 plus na kooperatiba, kapag sabay-sabay ba ang pag-order, sa tingin ba nila na makakagawa ang local manufacturers na magkaroon ng mass production kung di naman nila tinatanong kung may puhunan,” he said.

Meanwhile, 1-Rider Partylist Rep. Ret. Col. Bonifacio Bosita earlier urged the use of locally manufactured modernized jeepneys instead of imported ones since the latter could cause a spike in jeepney fares with the minimum being P30 to P40.