MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is “confident” that at least 60% of jeepneys in Metro Manila will consolidate before the deadline passes on Tuesday, April 30.

“Right now, we are at 57%. We anticipate to reach the 60% mark by this afternoon dahil dagsa ‘yung mga tao ngayon (since lots of people are coming in),” LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said in a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

A 60% consolidation rate in Metro Manila would still mean that more than 19,000 jeepneys could potentially lose the right to ply their routes, based on the latest baseline data available. But Guadiz is firm that the remaining jeepneys will be “more than enough” to serve commuters.

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“From my own perspective, after a thorough study, 60% is more than enough,” Guadiz said in a mix of English and Filipino. “You have other modalities here. You have buses, you have trains, you have tricycles. There are other modes of transportation that can cover these public utility jeeps that would now leave the streets.”

Besides being the Philippines’ center of economic and urban activity, Metro Manila is also key because its consolidation rate was previously the lowest in the country. Based on April 1 data, only about 52% of jeepney units had consolidated, equivalent to around 80% of routes.

Although some short routes may disappear because no jeepney operators there chose to consolidate, the LTFRB chairman said that those could still be serviced by jeepneys on other overlapping or nearby routes.

Guadiz also said that the Philippines has an “oversupply” of jeepneys, which is noticeable during off-peak hours when some jeepneys have barely any passengers onboard.

“We have an oversupply of public utility jeeps, and we really need to trim down the number if we are to make this jeepney modernization program as a success and as a viable alternative. So, hindi ho tayo kakapusin (So we won’t have a shortage),” Guadiz said.

To support this, Guadiz cited a study supposedly done “sometime in 2016” by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, before the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program was launched. Asked whether the results of the study still stand given the almost eight-year difference, Guadiz insisted that the number of jeepneys still needed to be cut down, especially given the development of new trains, like the Metro Manila Subway.

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Nationwide consolidation

The nationwide consolidation rate as of April 23, 2024, stands at 78.33% based on units and 73.71% based on routes, equivalent to 150,179 units and 7,019 routes, respectively.

In terms of the number of consolidated operators, there are 1,715 cooperatives and 1,088 corporations.

“We are anticipating and expecting this to increase from 80% to about 82%. Case in point, right now, ang dami pong nagpupunta ngayon sa mga (many people are going to the) LTFRB regional offices. These are the doubting Thomases who thought that the government will extend the period of consolidation or those who thought that the Supreme Court will issue a temporary restraining order,” Guadiz told reporters on Tuesday.

Guadiz noted that jeepney operators were filling up offices in Metro Manila, Cebu, and Davao, hoping to file for consolidation before the deadline passes.

As early as January 2024, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said that the government doesn’t need to achieve a 100% consolidation rate. A 65% consolidation rate, he said, would be sufficient.

With the April 30 deadline coming to an end, Guadiz warned that those who failed to consolidate now “have already lost their franchise.”

“‘Pag wala kang prangkisa, that means colorum ka. ‘Pag colorum ka at bumiyahe ka (If you don’t have a franchise, that means you’re colorum. If you go out as a colorum vehicle), you are susceptible to being apprehended with the penalty of one year suspension for the driver and P50,000 for the motor vehicle that was apprehended,” the LTFRB chairman told reporters.

He added that the agency will not immediately start impounding these unconsolidated jeepneys by May 1. They will first be served a show cause order, following due process. Guadiz said that the LTFRB, in coordination with the Philippine National Police and Land Transportation Office, may begin enforcement around two weeks past May 1. – Rappler.com

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