16/10/2026
The World Bank's PUV phaseout program is anti-commuter.
PRESS RELEASE - 16 October 2026
PARA Commuters' Network lambasts the World Bank Group and its proposed "major overhaul" of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), citing that its implementation would worsen transport supply issues and increase fares. This is in contrast to pronouncements made by Bowen Wang, senior transport specialist of the World Bank Group, that they are refining the objectives of the PTMP to "focus on modernizing the service in terms of commuter experience for everybody."
Nanoy Rafael, convener of PARA Commuters' Network, said that the World Bank's proposal is "anti-commuter by design," with the program prioritizing the profitability of PUV leasing companies and the sales of automotive manufacturers.
"Bowen Wang and the World Bank are professional liars," Rafael said. "They keep harping on about improving reliability and punctuality of public transport, but maliciously avoid discussing the forced scrapping of jeepneys and the leasing model that is at the heart of the World Bank jeepney phaseout. This will totally destroy our transport supply and make commuting more difficult. The leasing model will increase fares exponentially. The model is anti-commuter by design."
Under the World Bank's Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) leasing model, operators will no longer be owning their PUVs, but instead will be renting from a leasing company. According to PARA Commuters' Network, in order for the World Bank to implement the leasing model, there will be a "systematic scrappage of old PUVs," or an enforced scrapping program for jeepneys.
"Commuters are already suffering due to the failures of the PTMP," Rafael continued. "We have seen a reduction of transport supply by as much as 190,000 PUVs nationwide since the implementation of the jeepney phaseout, with only a meager 8,000 modern fleets serving as replacement as of August 2026. Now the World Bank wants to systematically scrap our remaining jeepneys."
The World Bank presents a gross-cost service contracting model as a system in which the government pays transport operators a fixed amount for providing services according to certain service standards, alleviating operating cost risks. But according to PARA, the gross-cost service contracting model is nothing but a way to ensure the profits of the leasing company by siphoning off taxpayer money.
"The World Bank proposal document itself belie Bowen Wang's claim that they are prioritizing commuters," Rafael continues. "The gross-cost service contracting model, according to the World Bank document itself, is essential as an 'assurance that the operators could pay back the leasing fees.'"
In the World Bank proposal, transport workers will no longer have control over fare box revenues. All fares will be turned over to a contracting authority, who are obligated to pay the PUV leasing fees before the operational costs and salaries of transport workers.
"This shows that the service contract fees prioritize the profits of the leasing companies, and not the livelihood of transport workers nor the welfare of commuters," Rafael said. "History has shown that privatized, profit-oriented, corporate-centered transport programs only result in higher fares and poorer service."
"We have had enough of World Bank meddling in public transportation and our economy," concluded Rafael. "What we need is a public transportation program that has national industrialization as its foundation, and with a public service framework--this will increase transport supply and minimize fares. We do not need predatory bankers and second-rate car salesmen like Bowen Wang to ineptly tell us what our country needs."
PARA Commuters' Network are joining other transport and sectoral groups in a series of protest actions leading to Donald Trump's ASEAN visit to signify opposition to the World Bank jeepney phaseout program.
