The Supreme Court has junked the petition of a group of jeepney drivers and operators challenging the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program or PUVMP of the Department of Transportation.

In the decision of the en banc promulgated on July 11, 2023, the high court denied the petition for certiorari and prohibition filed by Bayyo Association, Inc. and its president Anselmo Perweg against the DOTr.

The court noted that while Bayyo attached a Securities and Exchange Commission certificate of registration as an association of operators and drivers, the articles of incorporation and by-laws and other competent proof were not submitted.

“In view of the petitioners' lack of legal standing and their disregard of the doctrine of hierarchy of courts, the Court will not delve into the merits of the substantive arguments raised,” the court said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Maria Filomena Singh.

The high court also noted that the petition violated the principle of hierarchy of courts as the petitioners went to the Supreme Court without bringing first the matter to the lower courts.

“The doctrine of hierarchy of courts dictates that direct recourse to the Court is allowed only to resolve questions of law, notwithstanding the invocation of paramount or transcendental importance of the action,” the court said.

In their petition, the drivers and operators said the PUVMP is violative of their rights as they are compelled to modernize their units with brand new ones with prices ranging from P1.6 million to P2.1 million.

The court however stressed that the issues raised by the petitioners are not purely legal.

“These factual issues should have been first brought before the proper trial courts or the Court of Appeals, both of which are specially equipped to try and resolve factual questions,” the court said.