MANILA: Transport cooperatives are free to decide which modern jeepneys to buy for the public utility vehicle modernization program, officials said Tuesday.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair Teofilo Guadiz III said the government has no say on the matter as he issued the statement in response to criticisms that the country is importing these vehicles from China.
‘Pwede po sila bumili ng locally-made or from Japan, or China, o kahit ano pang bansa. Basta ang cooperatives po ang masusunod diyan at hindi ang pamahalaan (They can buy locally-made, from Japan, or China, or any other country. What matters is only the cooperatives can decide and not the government),’ Guadiz said in a statement.
The government’s role, he said, is limited to the creation and enforcement of the Philippine National Standard (PNS) that dictates the features and specifications that manufacturers must follow before they are approved to sell these as modern jeepneys.
‘The DTI [Department of Trade and Ind
ustry] has a list of those who have complied with the PNS. It’s up to them which one they’ll choose,’ he said.
To date, he said there are 32 models of modern jeepneys currently used nationwide that are either locally manufactured or locally assembled.
In a separate statement, Department of Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan invited more local manufacturers to make modern jeepneys based on the PNS.
‘At kung mas mura ang presyo ng ating mga local manufacturers, tingin natin ay hindi mahihirapan ang ating mga operators na sila ang piliin. Pero nasa kanila ‘yun (And if these local manufacturers have cheaper prices, we believe it won’t be hard for them to be chosen. But this is for the operators to decide),’ Batan said.
He noted that the PNS is to encourage local manufacturing of modern jeepneys as it contains clear guidelines that manufacturers must follow.
‘Mas madaling makagawa ng modelo ang ating mga local manufacturers na tutugma at aayon sa requirements ng ating modernization program (It e
asier for our local manufacturers to create models that comply with the requirements of our modernization program),’ he said.
Earlier, Senator Raffy Tulfo criticized the government due to the importation of modern jeepney units from China as he believed that local manufacturers were capable of producing similar vehicles at a lower cost.
Tulfo said these modern jeepneys from China are priced around PHP2.6 million to PHP2.9 million per unit while local manufacturers like Sarao and Francisco Motors make jeepneys for around PHP900,000 to PHP985,000.
Source: Philippines News Agency
