MANILA -- The government will provide livelihood and skills development programs for public utility vehicles (PUV) drivers, whose operators will not consolidate individual franchises under cooperatives or corporations, an official of the Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) assured on Wednesday.

OTC chairman Jesus Ferdinand “Andy” Ortega said government agencies including the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) have their respective allotted fund for such programs.

“Mayroon pong pondong pumasok sa DOLE at saka sa TESDA po kasi ‘yung mga affected po, hindi na sumama either operator, drivers or even ‘yung mga parte ng negosyo ng transportasyon, pwede po silang mag-avail sa DOLE wherein they will be given a certain amount. Parang puhunan po in terms of goods to do other businesses,” Ortega said in an interview.

“Sa TESDA naman po, pwede silang mag-enroll ng certain courses para sila to have another kind of profession. There are help from DOLE and TESDA sa mga affected po,” he added.

Ortega also said the government will continue to find solutions for those drivers who wish to join other operators who participated in the mandatory franchise consolidation.

“Ang ating objective po ngayon is mabigyan, tumuloy yung trabaho ng mga jeepney drivers from their previous operators na hindi na po nag-consolidate, para lumipat sila. Tuloy ang trabaho pero this time, iba na po ‘yun. Sila ay magiging miyembro ng cooperative para mabigyan po sila ng trabaho,” he said.

The required franchise consolidation is one of the components in the government’s PUV modernization program (PUVMP) which lapsed on December 31, 2023.

Unconsolidated commuter jeepneys are still allowed to operate on selected routes until January 21, 2024. (PND)