Save the jeepneys: Philippine business leaders join call to suspend modernisation of ‘cultural icon’

An ongoing strike by public transport drivers and operators in the Philippines against a government policy to phase out traditional jeepneys has drawn unexpected support from business leaders.

The latest voices comprised commerce and labour groups, who hailed jeepneys as a “cultural icon” and argued that the livelihoods and families of countless operators would be affected.

Prominent business leader Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jnr, along with other industry peers, on Sunday expressed hope that President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr would change his mind on a final Tuesday deadline for consolidation of jeepneys and suspend the programme due to “infirmities”.

“We hope that it [the indefinite suspension] will be a Labour Day gift to the workers,” Ortiz-Luis Jnr told This Week in Asia on Tuesday.

Ortiz-Luis Jnr is an honorary chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) and the honorary chairman and president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP).

Both the PCCI and ECOP, along with the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc, are members of the “Leaders Forum” for the business side, while the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Center of United and Progressive Workers) and Federation of Free Workers represent the labour side.

The group issued a statement on Sunday saying: “We believe that this programme, which includes the phaseout of jeepneys – a cultural icon in the Philippines – will impact the livelihoods of countless jeepney operators, drivers, and their families.

“We call for an urgent review of the PUVMP to address its legal, financial and human rights infirmities. It is evident that the principles of a ‘just transition’ have not been upheld in