The Cooperative Development Authority said it will continue helping drivers secure the requirements for the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.
“We continue to help drivers and operators to consolidate into a cooperative, we help them with their requirements and we guide them so that their registration becomes easier,” CDA Deputy Administrator Ray Elevazo said.
Under the PUV modernization program, operators and drivers will be organized into cooperatives or corporations to ensure the efficiency of its operations.
Jeepney operators and drivers were given until Dec. 31 last year to consolidate into a cooperative or a corporation.
The Dec. 31 deadline, however, is only for consolidation and not yet for the modernization of PUV units.
“The consolidation has a bit of an effect, we need to hurry so we are working together with the office of the transport cooperatives so that we can register them as a cooperative,” Elevazo said.
“If they need funds for modernization, we will link them to government banks such as the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines,” he added.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board earlier said 145,721 PUVs, or 76 percent of all PUVs operating in fixed routes nationwide, are already consolidated or have applied for consolidation.
Elevazo said CDA and other government agencies are all working together to help strengthen the management and organization of transport service cooperatives. – PNA
