DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- The Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Region 11 has recorded 86 percent industry consolidation of public utility vehicles as of December 31,2023 deadline for the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

 “For PUJ, we have consolidated 83 percent of the units for UV Express; we have consolidated 89 percent for a total of 86 consolidated units,” said Ronnel Victor Panigon, head of PUVMP-LTFRB-11.

He added “For the LTFRB-11, we have a 100 percent submission rate in the Davao Region. We are operating 73 modernized public utility vehicle units in the region operating in 10 routes.”

However, the data do not cover Davao City which has a separate Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, also known as the High Priority Bus System (HPBS).

“Mao ni among ni-receive tung ni-apply ug consolidation sa among office (these are what we received from those who applied for consolidation in our office), and those are operators na nag-submit ug (submitted) affidavit of conformities, meaning they allow that their individual franchises be canceled and revoked and be put under the name of the juridical entity cooperative or corporation,” Davila said.

Currently, the 73 modernized units in the region are in the province of Davao del Sur.

“Hopefully, we will launch modernized units in Davao del Norte during the first quarter of this year,” Panigon said.

He added that the LTFRB-11 is currently assisting local government units in developing their route plan, which is a prerequisite for consolidated entities applying for financial loans to purchase their modernized PUV units.

“We are conducting workshops, stakeholder meetings, and consultation meetings together with the LGUs and the transport cooperatives, making preparations para mahan-ay ang mga rota (putting the route in order),” Panigon said.  (RGA/PIA Davao)