Malacañang said bringing back jeepneys in Metro Manila is the least of the government’s priorities as it was impossible to observe physical distancing inside the vehicle.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has not approved the resumption of passenger jeepneys despite calls for their comeback.
“Dahil sa social hygiene at social distancing eh hindi pa rin papayagan,” he said.
“Nasa bottom pa rin ng hierarchy of transportation mode ang mga jeepney,” he added.
However, Roque said that jeepneys may be brought back just not in Metro Manila where cases of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) remain high.
“Sa probinsya kapag wala ng ibang transportasyon ay pinapayagan naman ang mga jeepneys. Ang talagang isyu ay dito sa Metro Manila,” he said.
Despite being a high-risk area, Metro Manila was downgraded to the general community quarantine (GCQ) after being under the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ since March 15.
President Duterte will announce the fate of Metro Manila’s quarantine on Monday.
Meanwhile, Roque said that displaced jeepney drivers will no longer be tapped as contact tracers.
“Hindi na po contact tracers, sila po ay plano na ngayon na – ito mas mukhang viable – delivery service ang tinitingnan para sa ating mga jeepney driver,” he said.
Jeepney drivers have been asking the government to reconsider the ban on the said vehicle.
Six jeepney drivers were even arrested in Caloocan last week for staging a protest against the ban.
They were released only this week.
To assist the displaced jeepney drivers, Roque earlier said the government was planning to hire them as contact tracers.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is set to hire 50,000 contact tracers in July.
Roque likewise said that the government was studying the possibility of giving another round of cash assistance to jeepney drivers displaced by the COVID-19 quarantine. (Argyll Geducos)