LTFRB to deploy free rides as transport group vows to push through with 3-day strike
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has assured the public of sufficient number of public utility vehicles (PUVs) in Metro Manila and other areas that would be affected by the planned three-day strike by a transport group.
In an interview over a GMA news program, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said there are only two to three routes in Metro Manila that would be affected by the transport strike from July 24 to 26 and he assured that contingency measures are already in place.
One of them, he said, is by providing free rides on the routes that would be affected and another is a meeting with other jeepney and bus groups to deply additional vehicles in areas that would be affected by the transport strike.
“But we are trying to reach out to the group of Manibela for them to think it over and that maybe, we could just talk about the issues they are raising,” said Guadiz.
Manibela chairperson Mar Valbuena, however, said that the transport strike will continue despite the warning of Guadiz himself that those who would join would be stripped of their franchise to operate.
Guadiz also disclosed that they will be meeting with the seven major jeepney groups on Monday, July 18. He said these seven jeepneuy groups have already committed that they will not join the transport strike.
Manibela has been protesting the alleged discrepancies in the implementation of the PUV Modernization Plan, one of the major reasons behind the transport strike.
Under the PUV Modernization Program, jeepney operators and drivers are required to form a corporation or cooperative for fleet management.
Valbuena disclosed that local government units and large corporations are being given the priority in the issuance of franchise routes in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.
Guadiz, however, denied the allegation.