SENATOR GRACE POE (GP): Mr. President, it’s very difficult to give a timeline if the submission of the route rationalization does not materialize.
SENATOR JUAN MIGUEL ZUBIRI (JMZ): Give us a scenario
GP: Because actually there is a study that was given by JACA with regards to this and they need to study that proposal of JACA first. Now as your concern about the local government units not agreeing to cooperate.
JMZ: I hear the bottlenecks are there.
GP: Yes. I think the DOTR needs to be more proactive and they should release a statement that this is our problem. Because if this is so then I think the executive can intervene already in this case and—
JMZ: Which will make me go to my next clarificatory question, Ma’am. Is there a law that mandates that the road rationalization plan must be coming from the local government unit? Because if there’s a law, we really cannot disregard the local government unit but if there is an order, administrative order or an EO of some sort that can be amended. So could you, would you know the answer if there is a law that mandates, they come from the local government?
GP: Mr. President, I think our good governor, former Governor from Sorsogon can talk.
JMZ: Yes. Distinguished colleague, the former Governor now Senator Francis Escudero.
SENATOR CHIZ ESCUDERO (CHIZ): Yes Mr. President, distinguished colleagues. When I was governor, I think we were the only province in the Bicol Region that has a route rationalization plan approved. The bottleneck actually exists with respect to tricycle drivers, because under the law, jeepneys are under the LTFRB, tricycles are under the local government unit and a route rationalization plan must include both. In fact, even including buses. Take into account the size of the road, the distance of the schools, and other factors to be considered. So, insofar as the route rationalization plans for jeepneys are concerned, the DILG can issue a corresponding memorandum to local chief executives to actually finish it in so far as jeepneys are concerned. But if you are talking about the entire and comprehensive route rationalization plan, it should include both buses and tricycles.
JMZ: So maybe the good solution to that would be the DILG, we should also urge the DILG in this solution to come up with a deadline as suggested by our dear colleague from Sorsogon so that they can move to the next step which is the modernization.
CHIZ: Mr. President, that’s also a problem because there is no support. When we came up with it, we had to hire our own experts. There was no available expert from DOTr, LTFRB that could teach us exactly what a route rationalization plan would look like, what would be the (inaudible), what it should contain. Wala pong ganoon but not only the route rationalization plan, Mr. President, distinguished sponsor there is also a problem of financing. Each of these modernized jeepneys cost at least Php2.3-M ‘pag tinanong mo ang LTFRB, pinakamalaki nilang ibibigay na subsidy ay Php200,000, minsan Php100,000 depende pa sa probinsya. Paano nila babayaran ‘yong amortization and if the amortization is computed at about Php60,000 to Php70,000 at least. Agad wala nang kita if you compute the number of seats and sitting capacity of these jeeps and the monthly amortization, wala na agad. Clearly, Php100,000 will not suffice, clear Php200,000 will not suffice and you’re mentioning cushion a while ago clearly also there’s no safeguard whatsoever with respect to drivers and including operators who will be displaced because of this supposedly modernization.
And this modernization, Mr. President, did not even go through the usual process. The Philippine is known for its jeepneys and all of a sudden overnight they want to phase it out and replacing it with this square-looking busses from China and Russia. The experience of Sorsogon, Mr. President, is not so good because about half at least, about 60 percent in fact, are already unusable after less than two years. Kinakahuyan na lang po ng piyesa ‘yong mga hindi na magamit kasi wala namang available na spareparts. Kasi ‘yong mga prino-provide nilang bus pamalit ng mga jeep, wala hindi naman Toyota, hindi naman Mazda, hindi naman Mitsubishi, wala namang spare parts na available sa Banawe o kung saan-saan. Galing lahat sa kanila, ni hindi naming alam kung saan galing. And these are being spoon-fed, I’m being polite to the cooperatives, ang dagdag pahirap pa sa jeep, Mr. President, as you discussed kanina with Senator Risa, kailangan mong sumama sa kooperatiba otherwise hindi ka kasama sa programa. Saan naman ‘yon? Saan ba nakalagay ‘yon?