Consumers and passengers led by the Panay Consumers Alliance (PCA) picketed at Tagbak Terminal in Jaro District, Iloilo City on February 16. They condemned the transport crisis caused by the implementation of the jeepney phaseout veiled under the Public Transportation Modernization Program (PTMP) and the city’s Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).

According to the group, these transport policies are a burden to ordinary residents due to the resulting lack of available rides. City passengers endure long lines and competition for jeeps every day just to get a ride.

PCA estimated that 2,587 jeeps served around 517,400 to 620,880 passengers in the city before the LPTRP took effect. Only about 256,072 to 330,760 people benefit from public transport services since the implementation of the LPTRP which reduced the number of jeeps and trips, and changed routes.

Existing city policies such as banning provincial jeeps’ entry into the city and restricting jeeps operating from first-town areas ( nearby towns surrounding Iloilo City) have worsened the transport crisis.

To immediately solve the lack of public vehicles, the PCA called on the local government to urgently allow jeeps to register and return to their routes. They also urged a review of the LPTRP’s implementation in the city and the junking of the PTMP.