LTFRB heeds Marcos, DOTr’s call to review PUVMP
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) heeded the call of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for a further review of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
In line with this, the Board issued Memorandum Circular 2023-017 that recalls Memorandum Circular 2023-013 or the “Guidelines on the Industry Consolidation of PUJ, FILCAB and UVE after March 31, 2023” and extends the deadline for Industry Consolidation for routes without filed application for consolidation until December 31, 2023.
The LTFRB reiterated it issued the new circular in line with the directive of the President and DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista “to revisit the PUV modernization program and to assess the level of compliance by the stakeholders.”
Also, the LTFRB maintained that it will continue to push for consolidation and consult with all stakeholders to be able to come up with a better public transport modernization program that will benefit both operators and drivers, and the commuting public.
Under the new circular, the “validity of Provisional Authority pursuant to MC No. 2022-033 is hereby extended until December 31, 2023, without [the] need of filing an extension.”
The new circular also further “emphasized that operators are encouraged to consolidate during the period of extension granted.”
“We issued the new circular because we understood the wisdom of the President and the DOTr Secretary in calling for further review of the PUVMP and make it even more dynamic, flexible, and responsive to the needs of operators and drivers and ultimately the riding public, who will benefit from a convenient, accessible, safe and secure, and affordable public transportation system,” LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III explained.
