The first day of the weeklong transport strike has minimal effect in the National Capital Region (NCR), the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Monday, March 6.
MMDA chairperson Romando Artes said the decision of the majority of the transport groups operating in Metro Manila, along with the government response that include deployment of vehicles for affected commuters, played a major role in minimizing the impact of the strike.
“The transport strike did not paralyze the public transport and if there were commuters who were did not easily get transportation, we immediately acted on it. Our contingency measures worked well,” said Artes.
At least 10 transport groups operating in Metro Manila earlier declared that they would not join the transport strike initiated by Manibela.
A total of 1,680 vehicles were deployed by various government agencies, most of them came from the local government units.
MMDA General Manager Undersecretary Procopio Lipana, head of the Inter-Agency Task Force Monitoring Team Secretariat, said only 88 of the 1,680 vehicles from the national government and Metro Manila local government units were used to transport affected commuters.
"Only five percent of our assets have been utilized and catered to 3,584 passengers," said Lipana.
Peaceful
Police Col. Roman Arugay, Operations Officer of the Philippine National Police-National Capital Region Police Office, said the first day of the transport strike was peaceful.
"No major untoward incidents were reported except for minor ones, such as PUV (Public Utility Vehicle) drivers who held demonstrations, protesters who obstructed streets, and coerced PUV drivers to join the protest,” said Arugay.
“No injuries or harm occurred. No arrest has been made," he added.
It was not immediately clear if the transport strike will go on for the rest of the week but Artes said the contingency measures they prepared will be in place until Friday.
Number coding is back
The MMDA announced on Sunday, March 5, that the number coding scheme would be lifted on the first day of the transport strike.
Artes said the move is in anticipation of the shortage of vehicles since they were yet to see the effects of the transport strike.
But with minimal effect on public transport, Artes said the number coding is back starting Tuesday, March 7.