DOTC spokesman Thompson Lation said yesterday the department decided to put the program on hold after holding a meeting with various transport groups last Tuesday afternoon.
"We decided to put the plan on hold. We’ll hear first from the people concerned through a public consultation," he noted.
DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza recently issued Department Order 2002-30 that prohibits the importation of buses 15 years from the date of manufacture.
According to Arnel Manresa, head of DOTC Road Transport Planning Division, the program is intended to help minimize air pollution, as mandated by the Clean Air Act, as well as road accidents caused by old and dilapidated buses.
"The government has the responsibility to protect the riding public. Dilapidated buses not only contribute to pollution, but are prone to accidents," Manresa added.
Manresa said bus owners usually buy secondhand buses from Japan that re-fleet their units on the 12th year.
This means that bus operators will have around three years to use their imported buses should the DOTC order be implemented.
Manresa said that even without the order, imported buses do not last beyond five years because bus owners do not observe "preventive maintenance."
Claire de la Fuente, president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association (IMBOA), warned that most bus companies would be forced to close shop when the DOTC pushes through with the plan.
"We have around 5,000 buses in Metro Manila and almost all of them are secondhand. The buses that we buy are usually a decade old so we’ll have only five years to recoup our capital," she said. – Sheila Crisostomo