President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. on Tuesday, Dec. 12, announced that there would be no extension of deadline for consolidation of Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers into cooperatives and corporations under the PUV Modernization Program.
Marcos announced the decision in an X (formerly Twitter) post, shortly after he convene with transportation officials in a meeting.
"[I]t was decided that the deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) operators will not be extended," he announced.
Today, we held a meeting with transport officials, and it was decided that the deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) operators will not be extended.
— Bongbong Marcos (@bongbongmarcos) December 12, 2023
Currently, 70 percent of all operators have already committed to and consolidated under the Public…
The President cited that 70 percent of PUV operators nationwide had "committed to and consolidated" to the PUVMP.
"We cannot let the minority cause further delays, affecting the majority of our operators, banks, financial institutions, and the public at large," Marcos added.
Marcos also pointed out that adhering to the scheduled timeline would ensure "that everyone can reap the benefits of the full operationalization of our modernized public transport system."
In March this year, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board moved the deadline from June 30 to December 31 to give the transport sector "more time to consolidate.”
Last week, the transportation department stood by the December 31 deadline, and Transporation Secretary Jaime Bautista had assured that there would be "just transition" for traditional PUVs.