‘Brace for bigger transport strikes’
Commuters should prepare themselves for bigger transport strikes during the delivery of President Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) and in the coming days, a transport group said yesterday.
Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) chair George San Mateo issued the warning as the militant group held a transport caravan in Quezon City and Manila yesterday, after Duterte failed to talk to them during their rally in Mendiola.
He also said that a transport caravan, which could last for three days, may be held in August if Duterte continues to fail to listen to their grievances.
Piston had been organizing transport caravans, the latest during the opening of classes in June, to protest the government’s plan to modernize public transport, wherein electric jeepneys would replace jeepneys that run on fossil fuel.
The modernization could also lead to the phaseout of jeepneys 15 years old and above, San Mateo noted.
“We hope the public would understand us because it is our livelihood that we are fighting for,” San Mateo said in Filipino.
Yesterday, around 2,000 individuals and 50 jeepneys joined the protest that started from the National Housing Authority’s main office on Elliptical Road in Quezon City to Mendiola in Manila.
San Mateo also apologized to commuters affected by the transport caravan for the inconvenience, but insisted that the jeepney modernization could make public transport more expensive.
Piston’s transport caravan prompted some schools in Manila – University of Santo Tomas, De La Salle University, University of the East, National University, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Colegio de San Juan de Letran and Adamson University – to suspend classes at around noon yesterday.
‘Hardly felt’
For National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Oscar Albayalde, however, yesterday’s strike was hardly felt by commuters in Metro Manila.
“The traffic along EDSA remain(ed) heavy despite the transport strike,” Albayalde said in an interview, adding that this was particularly apparent in the northern part of the metropolis, where militant transport groups are active.
The NCRPO prepared 6x6 trucks to ferry stranded commuters to their destinations and on their way home, but were not deployed as of 4 p.m. yesterday.
When told that the groups staged a protest rally on Mendiola, Albayalde said it was but “normal,” as such rallies are regular fare in Metro Manila.
Besides, the Manila Police District is capable enough to secure the Malacañang Palace from the protesters, Albayalde added.
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority transport strike commander Edward Gonzales, however, said the MMDA served some 1,170 stranded commuters yesterday morning using 21 vehicles provided by some government agencies, including the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The stranded passengers came from Commonwealth Avenue, Litex, Monumento and Letre.
Gonzales said the transport caravan caused traffic in Quezon City, where the groups convened until they reached Mendiola.
No stopping modernization
Despite transport groups’ protests, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said there is no stopping the government’s modernization program for public utility vehicles (PUV).
While the government is willing to engage transport groups, LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra III said the primordial concern of the government is to ensure the safety of the riding public through modernized public utility jeepneys (PUJs).
“I would like to point out that what (the transport groups) are pushing is the interest of (PUJ) operators in particular but as I’ve said, the overriding interest of the riding public is our priority,” Delgra said in a TV interview, insisting that the financial package offered to jeepney operators is not costly as it comes with a very low interest rate.
Jeepney drivers will get a P2.26-billion government subsidy to cover the equity for 28,346 new jeepneys. Each operator can avail himself of a loan package of P1.2 million to P1.6 million with an interest rate of six percent, payable in five to seven years.
The government also agreed to grant an P80,000 subsidy for every unit.
“We have given every assistance possible to PUJ operators,” Delgra said.