BY BEN ROSARIO
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Despite the lifting of restrictions on jeepney operations, the government should not stop distributing cash aid to the country’s public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers who continue to struggle due to economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
DUMPER PTDA partylist Rep. Claudine Bautista made this appeal even as she thanked the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Disease and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board for giving the go signal for the return of jeepney operations recently.
Bautista noted that a big number of jeepney and taxi drivers – more than 200,000 of them – have decided not to go back to work for various reasons that include fear of COVID 19 infection and more importantly, potential loss of income due to reduced passenger capacity.
Bautista, vice chairperson of the House Committee on Transportation, also lamented that many PUV drivers, especially jeepney, have yet to receive financial aid from government.
“The public transport ban, along with delays in the release of financial assistance, has greatly hurt PUV drivers and their families. It’s important for us to do everything in our power to make sure the needs of the PUV drivers and their families are taken care of,” said Bautista.
