Several YouTube videos are erroneously claiming that the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program, now called the Public Transport Modernization Program, has been suspended. This is not true.
VERA Files Fact Check flagged three such posts uploaded on July 25 and 26, which carried the false claim on their thumbnails and headlines. One of the videos bore the headline:
“PUV Modernization sinuspinde ng Senado -Ortega at Guadis walang nagawa”
(PUV Modernization suspended by the Senate -Ortega and Guadis unable to do anything)
The program has not been suspended.
On July 30, 22 senators filed Resolution No. 1096, calling on the government to temporarily halt the implementation of the program. They cited as basis, among others, concerns over the “high figure of unconsolidated units” and “the potential phaseout of the iconic jeepney design”.
A major component of the PUV modernization program is the consolidation of PUV drivers and operators into “cooperatives or corporations to ensure efficiency of its operations.” After the consolidation deadline last April 30, the Department of Transportation (DoTr) said about 83% of over 191,000 PUVs have been consolidated.
The false videos circulated a few days after the Senate Committee on Public Services conducted an inquiry on the program on July 23. It was in this hearing where the committee’s chair, Sen. Raffy Tulfo, made a commitment to file the resolution with the support of other senators. Portions of this hearing were used in the erroneous YouTube videos.
Transpo agencies: Program is still a go
In an Aug. 1 interview with GMA Unang Hirit’s Unang Balita, Transportation Undersecretary Andy Ortega said the agency will pursue the program despite the call for its suspension, and said the decision on the Senate resolution rests with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a separate statement, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said the program will continue unless there is a directive from Marcos and the DOTr to stop the program.
The videos uploaded by YouTube channels BANAT NEWS PH (created on April 27, 2020), Latest Headline PH (June 9, 2017), and UPDATE NEWS (March 21, 2015) have collectively garnered 222,968 views, 2,718 likes, and 972 comments.
