By Junex Doronio
MANILA — Apparently listening to the lament of transport groups, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has extended the deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles up to April this year.
This overturned the January 31, 2024 deadline thus providing an opportunity for those who missed the initial deadline.
“President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has approved Transport Secretary Jaime J. Bautista’s recommendation, granting an additional three months until April 30, 2024 for the consolidation of public utility vehicles,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement.
She added that the extension will “give an opportunity to those who expressed intention to consolidate but did not make the previous cut-off.”
Meanwhile, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said public utility vehicles totalling 190,000 units, comprising of UV Express, PUJs, mini-buses and buses, have availed of consolidation.
As of the mid-January, UV express was able to achieve 82 percent consolidation; jeepneys, 75 percent; buses, 86 percent; and mini-buses, 45 percent, the LTFRB claimed.
(el Amigo/MNM)