Constraints for just transition in the “jeepney” modernization program

Abstract

Jeepney drivers and operators, who are informal workers in the passenger transport sector, have generally interpreted the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) as a threat to their livelihoods. The PUVMP promises a commitment to a “just transition”, whose approach posits that, through social dialogue and decent work, workers will not be left behind in the necessary fight against climate change and traffic congestion and in the face of demands for formalization of the sector. However, the design and implementation of this program – often imposed in an authoritarian manner – have proven to be discriminatory. Based on documentary analysis, interviews with union leaders, and participant observation carried out during the pandemic, the article questions the experience of groups that have adopted a strategy of “critical engagement” with the government in order to reveal the necessity and limits of the struggle for a just transition in the context of discriminatory modernization.