Jeepney drivers ask High Court to void transport suspension policies

A GROUP of jeepney drivers asked the Supreme Court to nullify several transport policies that suspended their operations during the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. In its 65-page petition, members and officials of the National Confederation of Transport Workers Union questioned before the Supreme Court the issuances of the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Department of Transportation, and the inter-agency task force (IATF) handling the pandemic response. They asked the court to conduct oral arguments on the lawsuit. The respondents are Health Secretary and IATF chairperson Francisco T. Duque III, Cabinet Secretary and IATF co-chair Karlo Alexei B. Nograles, LTFRB Chairperson Martin B. Delgra; and Transport Secretary Arthur P. Tugade. The union said the government officials “arbitrarily and unreasonably confiscated” their right to work, and failed to establish the connection between the prohibition and mitigation of the effects of the outbreak. They also questioned the agencies’ authority to issue the questioned policies. The lockdown, which suspended all public transport operations, was imposed mid-March. Modernized public utility jeepneys were allowed to resume operations on June 22 while traditional jeepneys on June 28. “Clearly, this is a form of discrimination against traditional jeepneys without establishing sufficient distinction among the other PUVs (public utility vehicles) mentioned,” the petitioners said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas