Press Release
July 28, 2020

Grace Poe on Telcos and PUV drivers

ON TELCOS

The frustration is growing by the day for fast, affordable and reliable internet service, which has become a necessity as people rely more on digital technologies amid the pandemic.

We know that improving internet service and coverage will happen not only by obligating the telcos but government regulators as well to remove the roadblocks to building the necessary communication infrastructure.

Pertinent national agencies and local government units should step up so that the approval of at least 25 regulatory permits for the construction of cell towers will not take six months.

We also reiterate our call for the passage of the E-Government Act to make government services accessible online.

This will establish real-time service and streamline business registration with government agencies, while ensuring transparency of dealings.

To fully implement this when passed, internet connection is crucial.

Both government and telcos should work double time to give our millions of Filipinos better and cheaper connectivity by the end of the year. We expect them to act with urgency and sense of duty for the sake of our people.

ON PUV DRIVERS

We will be watching. With no less than the President giving the marching orders to the DSWD and the DILG to look into the plight of our jeepney drivers, we hope something will be done to alleviate their woeful condition more than four months into the quarantine.

Cash assistance should reach all displaced drivers. No one should be excluded or left out from the social amelioration program.

While this aid will help them tide over for a few weeks, what this sector needs is a regular source of income to sustain them in the crucial months ahead.

To date, only around 8,000 jeepneys have been reportedly allowed to resume operations. These comprise only 14 percent of the 55,000 registered in the National Capital Region.

Concerned agencies owe it to our drivers and their families to lay down a clear plan on what to do with those who have been kept out of the roads.

We must not leave them begging on the streets to keep their families' hunger at bay.

Jeepney drivers will be an important component of the transport sector in ensuring mobility as we embark on a gradual, calculated reopening of the economy.

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