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Poe blasts DOTr over PUV modernization misses: Committee on Public Services chairperson Sen. Grace Poe chides the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for its failures in implementing the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), particularly in providing aid for affected PUV drivers, years since its launch. Poe took the floor Monday, December 11, 2023 to lament the lack of provisions protecting and supporting some 300,000 PUV drivers next year. The senator, who also defended the DOTr's proposed budget under the 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), said only P1.6 billion was allocated for the PUVMP. Her estimates, on the other hand, showed that a total of P750 billion is required to subsidize the consolidation of PUVs and replacement of dilapidated units. Poe also hit the DOTr for missing its own targets, while setting strict deadlines for the PUV drivers and operators. "Where is government in this modernization? The audacity of DOTr to set deadlines when it cannot help [our drivers]," Poe said in Filipino. (Voltaire F. Domingo/Senate Social Media Unit)