Public Service | Discussion of PUVMP at Mindanao Transportation Cooperatives Congress

Recently, the Mindanao Transportation Cooperatives Congress was held in Davao City. It was participated by cooperatives from different parts of Mindanao. The cooperatives present were from UV Express/Tourist Service, motorcycle for hire, taxi service, public utility jeepney (PUJ) / multicab, buses and multiple types of units. The event was also graced by representatives from the Department of Transportation, Office of Transportation Cooperatives, Land Transportation Office, Land Transport and Franchising Regulatory Board and City Government of Davao.

The event was conducted to discuss the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) which is part of the Duterte administration's legacy for a safe, reliable and comfortable mass transportation. It was a very big ticket of transformation, there were a lot of challenges but a strong political will made a step towards achieving the goals of the program.

The current situation of our mass transit is really not at par to international standard. It may be a "very Filipino" to have the jeepney in the streets, but it is not safe, reliable and comfortable at all. There may be health risks that can be associated with these mass transport and a lot of times being involved in the vehicular accident. There are a lot of question of road safety and road worthiness of such vehicle.

However, with the PUVMP, it aims to modernize our transport fleet, reform the current system of the industry, be environment friendly, change the way Filipinos do mass transport and improve income among drivers and the industry itself.

So far, within this program, Local Government Units (LGUs) are very much involved as they are more knowledgeable about the situation in their own localities. This step is among the best ways to make the transformation more appropriate. So far, there are a number of LGUs and cooperatives in selected areas who took the risk of adopting the program and it has been reaping good results!

The government is very willing to help the cooperatives achieve the goals of the program. One thing is through the 5-6-7-8 mechanism which involves loanable amount from Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines - 5% equity, 6% per annum, 7 years to pay and P80,000 subsidy from the government.

There are high hopes for this program as it will be a step to make our mass transportation more systematic, safe and comfortable. I am very happy with its initial start and very hopeful for its full implementation as the congress has helped the cooperatives understand more of the program. Aside from that, many suppliers are eager to help the cooperatives realize their needed transformation.

I hope this article helps!

As a frequent traveler, this modernization program will bring us closer to what the international community has been implementing years back. We are yet to explore and start but never too late to be on track. We need to learn how to adapt with changes and deal with it in our daily lives. Modernizing our transport system will also make the middle class opt more for public transportation and have their private cars rest for a while in their own garage. A more efficient transportation system will reduce the number of vehicles running in our streets!

Thank you for visiting my avenue, www.ten7avenue.com and hopefully to hear your thoughts! 😊