FACT CHECK: LTFRB flip-flops on PUV consolidation extension

After insisting that last April 30 was the final extension for the franchise consolidation for drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUV) under the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has extended the consolidation deadline again until Nov. 29.

STATEMENT

Interviewed on Radyo DZBB on Oct. 17, LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III said:

“I only gave them 45 days. Alinsunod din ho kasi ito sa request ng Senado no’ng nagpasa ho sila no’ng una ng resolusyon na sinasabing i-defer po namin. Ang concession ko sa kanila, bubuksan [the consolidation] ko po muli pero 45 days lang.”

(This is also according to the request of the Senate when they passed a resolution asking us to defer. My concession to them is that I will open the consolidation but only for 45 days.)

Source: Saksi Sa Dobol B | October 17, 2024, Oct. 17, 2024, watch from 46:51 to 47:10

FLIP-FLOP

On Aug. 6, Guadiz declared the franchise consolidation deadline will no longer be extended. “There will be no extension. The president already ended it,” he was quoted in news reports as saying.

In April, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. also rejected calls for an extension of the deadline. “Asahan ninyo, wala na pong extension ‘yung modernization. Kailangan na kailangan na natin ‘yan,” he said during a Bagong Pilipinas town hall meeting on traffic concerns in San Juan City on April 10.

(Expect that there will be no more extensions for the modernization. We really need that.)

The LTFRB previously set the deadline on Dec. 31 last year, extending it to Jan. 31, and again to April 30.

“If we look at the numbers na natitira na pwedeng mag-consolidate pero ayaw (the remainder who can consolidate but don’t want to), we’re looking at 5% (of PUV units),” Transportation Undersecretary Jesus Ferdinand Ortega said in a Sept. 23 press briefing.

“Kailangan talagang mag-consolidate,” he added. “That is non-negotiable dahil ‘yun ‘yung…malaking porsyento ng ating programa (because that is a huge part of our program).”

(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)