Organizers call transport strike a success
Longer queues and difficulty in getting rides greeted commuters on a Monday rush as transport groups staged a nationwide strike to protest the proposed phaseout of jeepneys and UV Express service vehicles next year.
Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO) tagged the recent transport strike as “successful” as 95 percent of jeepney drivers in Metro Manila joined the protest against the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization plan.
“Ninety-five percent ang mga nag-tigil pasada. Ang ibig sabhinin, tagumpay ang aming isinagawa na kilos protesta nationwide (Ninety-five percent stopped operations. That means that our transport strike was successful),” De Luna said.
Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) President Mody Floranda also said that transportation was 100 percent paralyzed in many regions.
Along with PISTON and ACTO, members of transport group Stop and Go Coalition also stopped their operations and joined the rally which started as early as 5 a.m. in nine different protest centers in Metro Manila.
This was despite the warning issued by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to PUV drivers and operators not to join any strike or they will face suspension or cancellation and revocation of their franchise.
Led by PISTON and the No To Jeepney Phaseout Coalition, other militant groups also participated during Monday’s transport strike against the impending phaseout of passenger jeepneys under the DOTr’s PUV Modernization Program and the series of big-time oil price hikes.
Rallyists tagged the modernization scheme of the government as “antitransport and anti-commuters” as this aims to replace the iconic jeepneys to electronic ones which they said, will only favor big foreign businesses.
In an interview, De Luna slammed anew the bank requirements set under the program which he said are difficult to meet, preventing them to qualify for a loan to avail PUVMP-compliant units worth at least 12.5 million.