Transport strike stretches to Friday

(UPDATE) THE transport strike will continue for a full workweek after another drivers’ group decided to carry on with the stoppage until Friday following the refusal of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to “listen to the transport group’s pleas.”

Transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) on Monday started their three-day strike until Wednesday, and another group, the Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (Manibela), will carry on with the protest until Friday.

GETTING LOUD A jeepney driver holds a placard as he joins the transport strike in Manila on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. PHOTO BY MIKE ALQUINTO

These developments emerged despite the dialogue with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Teofilo Guadiz 3rd on Monday.

Piston President Mody Floranda confirmed to The Manila Times that they are pushing with the original three-day strike from November 20 to 22.

On its official Facebook page, Piston announced the continuation of the strike, citing that “the DoTr is not listening to their pleas.”

“It’s evident that the DoTr isn’t listening and proudly claims that December 31 is just a deadline for consolidation, not a phaseout. Yet, we’ve long opposed this very consolidation because, no matter how they spin it, franchise consolidation seizes individual permits [which is] equivalent to a phaseout. We’re not just referring to the phasing out of vehicles here but the phasing out of livelihoods,” Piston said.

Meanwhile, at a press conference on Tuesday, Manibela announced they are staging a nationwide transport strike from Wednesday until Friday.

Manibela’s President Mar Valbuena said that around 200,000 drivers and operators nationwide will join the strike.

Valbuena also confirmed that strike centers will be set up in Novaliches, Monumento in Caloocan, Parañaque, Pasig, Valenzuela, Manila, Muntinlupa, Marikina, and Project 4 in Quezon City.

He added that the strike is seen to affect 450 routes in the National Capital Region and nearly all routes in Central Luzon.

When asked why they didn’t join the Piston strike, Valbuena said that he had already had a prior dialogue with Floranda that they were splitting the strike that would cover the whole week.

“Starting tomorrow (Wednesday), Manibela and others will join the transport strike nationwide as a way of answering the lack of attention given to our concerns by the DoTr and the LTFRB,” Valbuena said.

Last month, Manibela held a transport strike which, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), was unsuccessful.

On Tuesday, LTFRB spokesman Celine Pialago said traditional jeepneys can continue their routes even after the Dec. 31, 2023 deadline.

“All they need to do is file their intention to join the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. It’s just a one- or two-page letter,” she said.

Around 60 percent of traditional jeepneys have already joined the consolidation, along with 70 percent of UV Express vehicles. She said that being a member of an existing transport cooperative or applying for consolidation will also be a requirement for registration with the Land Transportation Office.

“The confirmation will come from the LTFRB, and that confirmation will be the basis for their registration with the LTO. Technically speaking, if they’re not registered, they won’t be able to drive,” she explained.