MANILA: Public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers who may lose their jobs due to their operators failing to consolidate before the Dec. 31 deadline are encouraged to join transport cooperatives and corporations. Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC) chair Andy Ortega said transport cooperatives and corporations have assured that they will accept drivers who worked for operators that failed to consolidate. 'They are badly needed by the cooperatives, and I'm sure by the corporations,' Ortega said at a press conference Friday at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Quezon City. PUV routes where operators did not consolidate will be processed by the Land Transportation Office and distributed among different cooperatives and corporations to assume those routes, Ortega said. 'Ang mangyayari sa ating mga drivers is this. From a driver-to-operator relationship, babaguhin na po natin 'yan, it will be drivers becoming members of the cooperative and they will continue their job (What will happen to our drivers is this. From a driver-to-operator relationship, we have changed that to drivers becoming members of the cooperative and they will continue their job),' he said. To date, the OTC has reached out to some of the largest confederations of transport cooperatives in the country who have assured they will hire and help PUV drivers. Ortega said operators who decided not to consolidate have made a decision not to continue their business. 'It was a business decision on the part of the operators. Itutuloy ko ba ang serbisyo para sa mananakay o hindi? Desisyon nila, and eventually may deadline (Should I continue serving passengers or not? It was their decision, and there was a deadline),' he said. In response to allegations that membership in transport cooperatives can cost upwards of PHP300,000 to PHP400,000, keeping several operators from joining, he said there were no such accusations or complaints filed at the OTC. 'There was never a formal complaint, even a complaint from any operator to us directly, even verbal, regarding excessive membership fees,' he said. He noted that transport cooperatives are only required to have a capital of PHP300,000 which is divided among its members. 'If you have 15 members, that's around PHP20,000 per member. That's how they get their capital,' he said. Membership and monthly dues, he said, are decided and agreed upon by members of the cooperatives themselves. 'Makikialam kami kung sobra pero (We're only going to intervene if it's excessive but) like what we said, we never received any complaints and that's why it's not acted upon,' he said. Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers who may lose their jobs due to their operators failing to consolidate before the Dec. 31 deadline are encouraged to join transport cooperatives and corporations. Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC) chair Andy Ortega said transport cooperatives and corporations have assured that they will accept drivers who worked for operators that failed to consolidate. 'They are badly needed by the cooperatives, and I'm sure by the corporations,' Ortega said at a press conference Friday at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Quezon City. PUV routes where operators did not consolidate will be processed by the Land Transportation Office and distributed among different cooperatives and corporations to assume those routes, Ortega said. 'Ang mangyayari sa ating mga drivers is this. From a driver-to-operator relationship, babaguhin na po natin 'yan, it will be drivers becoming members of the cooperative and they will continue their job (What will happen to our drivers is this. From a driver-to-operator relationship, we have changed that to drivers becoming members of the cooperative and they will continue their job),' he said. To date, the OTC has reached out to some of the largest confederations of transport cooperatives in the country who have assured they will hire and help PUV drivers. Ortega said operators who decided not to consolidate have made a decision not to continue their business. 'It was a business decision on the part of the operators. Itutuloy ko ba ang serbisyo para sa mananakay o hindi? Desisyon nila, and eventually may deadline (Should I continue serving passengers or not? It was their decision, and there was a deadline),' he said. In response to allegations that membership in transport cooperatives can cost upwards of PHP300,000 to PHP400,000, keeping several operators from joining, he said there were no such accusations or complaints filed at the OTC. 'There was never a formal complaint, even a complaint from any operator to us directly, even verbal, regarding excessive membership fees,' he said. He noted that transport cooperatives are only required to have a capital of PHP300,000 which is divided among its members. 'If you have 15 members, that's around PHP20,000 per member. That's how they get their capital,' he said. Membership and monthly dues, he said, are decided and agreed upon by members of the cooperatives themselves. 'Makikialam kami kung sobra pero (We're only going to intervene if it's excessive but) like what we said, we never received any complaints and that's why it's not acted upon,' he said. Source: Philippines News Agency