CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Most public utility vehicle (PUV) groups in the Northern Mindanao Region do not want another deadline extension for consolidating operators as a single cooperative

In an interview on Friday, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-Northern Mindanao (LTFRB-10) Director Amenodin Guro said the feedback resulted from their series of consultative meetings with 15 existing PUV transport cooperatives this week.

“The transport players don’t want an extension again for the consolidation of jeepney operators into cooperative or corporation, whose deadline is set on December 31 this year,” he said.

During the meetings, Guro noted that only Manolo Fortich town in Bukidnon and the local government unit (LGU) here had submitted the required Local Public Transport Route Plan (LTPRP) needed for the government’s PUV modernization program.

“There’s a minimal oversight on overlapping issues that the LTFRB should undertake, but it can be done in a proper time,” he said.

Guro said LTFRB-10 is currently focused on consolidating and submitting LTPRP from different LGUs in the region.

If the LGUs cannot cooperate on the LTPRP requirement, he said transport groups can file an administrative case due to dereliction of duty.

Currently, almost 2,000 modernized PUVs are operating in Region 10 with 78 routes, the majority of which are from this city and Misamis Oriental province. (PNA)