Something isn’t right when the government suspiciously favors higher-priced imported minibuses over the cheaper modernized jeepneys local manufacturers offer.

In recent days, the beleaguered jeepney transport sector was abuzz with news that at least 11 Filipino-owned jeepney manufacturers have pegged their modernized versions at under P1 million a unit.

Compared to the P1.3 million to P2.3 million price of imported “box-like” minibuses being eyed to replace the jeepney, it is obvious why the conspicuous price difference bothers.

Moreover, nothing seems technically amiss with what’s on offer.

Jeepney manufacturer Francisco Motors, for instance, proudly claims its P985,000 version sporting the iconic jeepney look is fully electric.

Price, however, isn’t the only sticking point against the ugly minibuses.

Another pertinent observation is that a short-sighted government is again resolving another public crisis with imports rather than furthering the Filipino manufacturing sector towards self-reliance.

Such a sober assessment, in fact, underlies Senator Raffy Tulfo’s fiery nationalist reaction to the units reportedly being imported from China.

“Our waters in the West Philippine Sea are already being claimed by China. Are we even going to allow them to take over our roads as well?” Tulfo asked.

Echoing Tulfo, Elmer Francisco of Francisco Motors told a newspaper that “if we simply import minibuses to replace our jeepneys, we would be giving away jobs for our fellow Filipinos to foreigners, mostly in China.”

Such an import policy direction isn’t the only obvious shortcoming, however.

Suspicions are rife that foreign firms are favored because our transport officials have been corrupted.

In the face of such suspicions, Senate Majority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III is daring the Department of Transportation to publicly name the minibus contractors and their backers who stand to make billions in profits.

Similarly, House Speaker Martin Romualdez, in calling for a congressional hearing on the modernization program, said, “Reports alleging that current transport officials are in cahoots with previous officials in negotiating for the imported modern jeepney units that will replace the old units” need to be seriously looked into.

Undoubtedly, the forthcoming congressional investigation of corruption allegations will surely be riveting.

Such an investigation, however, should also pry into the fact that the modernization program may have been infirm from the start.

Take, for instance, the design of the modernized jeepney. Since the jeepney is an iconic “heritage” object, an initial requirement of the modernization program was that whatever design the modernized jeepneys would sport had to have the nod of the Filipino artistic community.

Strangely, however, the Filipino artistic community was never consulted, someone in the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, or NCCA, told me last year.

The modernization program clearly states that the NCCA needs to be involved in the modernization process. Since the local artistic community seems to favor the traditional jeepney look, local manufacturers would have a distinct advantage over the imports.

A cursory glance at the upgraded jeepney designs of local manufacturers show that they’re fine with the traditional jeepney look.

Francisco, for instance, argues that his company’s fully electric jeepney has the traditional look.

“Why replace these beautiful iconic-designed jeepneys with minibuses from other countries when we Filipinos practically invented the jeepney? It would be like removing a piece of our identity,” he said.

The government, of course, can yet surprise us and abruptly change course, not only because of congressional interdiction but also because it finds that it needs to. 

After all, the controversial jeepney consolidation is only the first step in the government’s ambitious modernization program for public utility vehicles.

Nonetheless, this still doesn’t change the fact the program needs to be thoroughly scrutinized and revised, not only by the government functionaries concerned but also by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself.

The Chief Executive has to involve himself in the nitty-gritty since hefty taxpayer monies will be used to bankroll the multi-billion modernization program.