Jeepney drivers and operators must have enough leeway from the government to buy their own vehicles under the jeepney modernization program, former Senator and 2025 senatorial candidate Ping Lacson said.
Speaking at a gathering with jeepney drivers and operators organized by former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson, Lacson said it would be better if the government merely gave standards and specifications of the vehicles they would acquire.
“This is better than the government ramming down your throats on what to buy.”
“It is better if the government merely gave parameters and specifications, then it’s up to you to choose where to buy your vehicles. This is better than the government ramming down your throats on what to buy,” he said in Filipino.
Also, Lacson reiterated his earlier proposal that jeepney drivers and operators get to retain their individual franchises, and not have to transfer the ownership of such franchises to a cooperative.
During the gathering, Pasang Masda president Roberto “Ka Obet” Martin noted to Lacson that they enjoyed “kotong-free” days when he headed the Philippine National Police from 1999 to 2001.
“We remember the time when police were extorting us, and all that disappeared when Senator Ping Lacson was Chief PNP.”
“We remember the time when police were extorting us, and all that disappeared when Senator Ping Lacson was Chief PNP. He cleaned up the police force, and extortion disappeared,” Martin said in Filipino.
“What he did as Chief PNP was exemplary, not only for the transport sector but also for the whole country when he headed the national police,” he added.
Lacson, whose father Buenaventura was a jeepney driver and operator, has been an ally of jeepney drivers and operators since his days as chief of the PNP, when he rid the police force of “kotong cops”.
He said he was inspired to get rid of kotong cops after seeing his father return home tired because he had to deal with mulcting cops.
