MANILA — Transport group PISTON has asked the Supreme Court to continue hearing its petition challenging the government’s public transport modernization program, arguing that recent policy changes do not render the case moot because the core issue of mandatory franchise consolidation remains unresolved.

In a compliance and manifestation submitted to the high court on June 29, PISTON chairperson Mody Floranda, through counsel, said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have repeatedly modified and extended consolidation requirements through successive issuances, making it difficult for the legality of the policy to undergo full judicial review.
The group cited several issuances, including LTFRB Board Resolution No. 53, series of 2024, Department Order No. 25-009 issued on May 6, 2025, LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2025-021, and the more recent Memorandum Circular No. 2026-020, which it said temporarily reopened or adjusted consolidation requirements while keeping the policy in place.

According to PISTON, these administrative issuances create short compliance periods that lapse before courts can fully resolve the legal questions surrounding compulsory consolidation.

The petitioners argued that the case falls under the exception to the mootness doctrine because the challenged policy is “capable of repetition yet evading review,” saying transport workers and small operators remain subject to recurring consolidation requirements despite changes in implementing rules.
They also maintained that the petition involves matters of paramount public interest because it concerns public transportation used daily by millions of Filipinos.

The filing said jeepneys remain the country’s dominant mode of public transportation, accounting for 150,867 registered public utility jeepneys as of October 2023, or 79 percent of all registered land transportation services. It added that PISTON estimates jeepney units in operation have declined from about 300,000 before 2017 to around 130,000 under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, affecting the livelihood of drivers and operators.

The group also cited government data indicating that while the DOTr reported an 85.42 percent franchise consolidation rate as of Nov. 29, 2024, hundreds of routes nationwide still have zero consolidation, and only about 11,000 public utility vehicles fully comply with national standards for modern public utility vehicles.

PISTON further noted that the transport modernization program continues to receive government funding, including a proposed PHP1.232 billion allocation under the 2026 National Expenditure Program and hundreds of millions of pesos in equity subsidies for modern jeepney acquisition.

In its prayer, the group asked the Supreme Court to take note of its compliance, grant its request for injunctive relief, and eventually declare the questioned department orders and related circulars null and void.