Transport group Manibela will be holding a transport strike on Tuesday, Jan, 16, as part of what it describes as a big protest march from Quezon City to Mendiola in Manila to call for the stop of the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) and the return of the cancelled franchise of jeepney operators.
Manibela President Mar Valbuena said the protest march will start from UP Diliman in Quezon City to España and later to Mendiola, adding that the rally will involve a much bigger number of protesters compared to the Dec. 29 rally.
“This is actually a nationwide protest action… and for the protest march alone, we expect at least 15,000 to join,” said Valbuena.
Manibela and Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Operator and Tsuper Nationwide) have been at the forefront of opposition in the implementation of the PUV Modernization as they have been assailing what they described as apparent unpreparedness of the Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to fully implement it.
The two transport groups said the PUVMP implementation would lead to robbing operators and drivers of their livelihood as their franchise would be revoked and shortage of transportation for commuters across the country, especially in Metro Manila and other urban areas.
From November to December last year, the two groups conducted a series of transport strikes to call for the stop of the full implementation of the PUV Modernization Program.
In holding another transport strike on Tuesday, Valbuena explained that it is part of their tireless efforts to fight for the welfare of the operators and drivers who would be denied their livelihood source as a result of the program.
“We will continuously ask the President to give back the franchise of jeepney operators that were revoked as a result of the PUV Modernization because this would mean that our drivers and operators would lose their livelihood source and this would also result in shortage of transportation for our commuters,” said Valbuena.
Earlier, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said all jeepney operators who failed to consolidate on Dec. 31 are deemed colorum, or illegally operating, and will be the subject of full enforcement starting Feb. 1.
Misinforming PBBM?
Valbuena accused the LTFRB and those behind the PUV Modernization of misinforming President Marcos on the real situation on the ground when it comes to the implementation of the program.
For one, he said it is suspicious that the LTFRB could not yet release the full list of the operators that consolidated and their routes, considering that it is now two weeks after the Dec. 31 deadline and considering the technological advances on data consolidation in the computer.
Another one which is deemed important is that the LTFRB and the Department of Transportation still have no complete Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRB) until now when the PUV Modernization is supposedly under the Route Rationalization stage.
Out of the more than 1,600 towns and cities in the Philippines, only less than 200 local government units were able to submit a Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRB).
While LTFRB officials are saying that there will be no transportation crisis once the crackdown on unconsolidated PUVs starts, Manibela is seeing otherwise due to the data that the LTFRB has, including the fact that only 40 percent of PUV operators were able to consolidate in Metro Manila on or before the Dec. 31 deadline.