No to Jeepney Phaseout!
Written on December 30, 2023
GABRIELA USA calls on all people to support the Jeepney drivers and their families as they continue the ongoing strikes in the Philippines. We support the jeepney operators, commuters, and National Democratic organizations in the Philippines who are actively protesting the mandatory franchise consolidation imposed by Marcos Jr.’s administration. As an overseas chapter of GABRIELA Philippines, we join kababayan around the world in condemning the Passenger Utility Vehicle (PUV) phaseout because this will gravely impact the livelihoods of drivers and their ability to make ends meet in the midst of the current economic crisis.
Through this PUV Modernization Program the jeepney business will be pushed to become privatized into 4 major “cooperatives” which would force drivers to pay more fees and licensing on top of other expenses. “According to the Office of Transportation Cooperatives, jeepney operators must put up P300,000 in paid-up capital… Operators could spend between P20,000 to P30,000 each to comply with other requirements.” This push for “modernization” is coming without any option for an alternative and given without any concrete plan for the transition. With the deadline for the Philippine Government on December 31 to enact this phaseout of jeepneys, jeepney drivers are concerned about their livelihood and many have mobilized to the streets to demand an end to the phase out completely.
“In November of this year in San Francisco and Los Angeles, many of the GABRIELA organizations alongside hundreds of other participants were able to confront Marcos Jr. and raise the demands of the people. Not once did he meet with us nor has he met with the Jeepney drivers who are mobilizing in the thousands, demanding an end to this anti-poor policy. The insistence on passing this phase out exposes that Marcos will go back on his promises only to cater to foreign businesses and local capitalists. He has no intention of ushering in a “bagong Pilipinas” when his actions are a repeat of the past - prioritizing infrastructure over national industrialization.” states Pyxie, chairperson of GABRIELA USA.
We demand an end to neoliberal policies that place profit over the lives of people. The government expects drivers to consolidate without question, when this would ultimately place them into thousands of pesos in debt. Over 200,000 drivers and 600,000 of their children would be critically affected by this phase out. Join GABRIELA and the Tuloy ang Laban Coalition to continue to increase international pressure against this decision and condemn the Jeepney phaseout!
Join Tuloy ang Laban: tinyurl.com/PHcoalition-signup
Sign the Joint Statement: bit.ly/NoToPUVMPSign
Donate to the Strike Fund: tinyurl.com/strike-fund23