Bulatlat News
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL
Bulatlat.com
MANILA – Amid claims of an unsuccessful transportation strike, transportation groups have recorded at least 85 percent paralysis in major routes in Metro Manila on the second day of the strike on Sept. 24.
“Who is Guadiz to say that the strike did not have an impact when he has never left the office?” said PISTON National President Mody Floranda, referring to the claim of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III that no commuters were stranded during the transport strike held by transport groups Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) and Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (Manibela).
The transport strike started on Sept. 23. Transportation strikes and protests were also held in Baguio City, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Cebu.
Guadiz also said that they are considering an additional 60 days for jeepney operators to comply with the Public Transportation Modernization Program (PTMP).
Floranda, in response, said that this only proves that Ferdinand Marcos Jr. administration “is weak and that all it can do is to lie and deceive the public.”
“This only exposed that the consolidation is a failure. Who are they to decide the fate of our livelihoods? They’re not the ones who have to sweat under the sun every day just to make a living,” said Floranda in a statement.
Marcos Jr. has rejected the recommendation of the Senators to suspend the implementation PTMP.
The PTPM or what was then called Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program started in 2017 to replace traditional jeepneys with units that have Euro 4 engine. However, many jeepney operators and drivers are opposing this because of its high cost.
Read: ‘What modernization? Govt only acting as agent for Toyota, Ayalas, Pangilinans’
Read: Jeepney modernization’s rushed timeline neglects drivers’ woes
Meanwhile, Piston filed a motion with the Supreme Court on Sept. 23 to resolve their pending application for a temporary restraining order against the PTMP.
The group said that despite government claims of 80 percent consolidation, the extensions granted by the LTFRB cast doubt on the success of the consolidation.
The deadline for modernization has been extended since its launch in 2017. The last extension was last April 30 of this year which prompted the PISTON to file a petition at the Supreme Court last April 30. But on July 15, the LTFRB issued Board Resolution No. 53 allowing unconsolidated PUVs to continue plying their routes in areas where there are least number of consolidated jeepneys and UV Express.
“It must be noted that, this time around, no deadline was announced by respondent LTFRB with regard to the authorization to operate under LTFRB Board Resolution No. 53 which serves as their authorization absent any proof of consolidation,” the motion of Piston read. According to Piston, the number of routes that have a low number of authorized units or units that are consolidated is significant as per LTFRB Board Resolution No. 53.
“While respondents attested in their submissions before this Honorable Court to the purportedly high and successful consolidation rate, the extensions they granted render doubtful and even belie such claims,” the petition read.
It added, “As it appears, respondents themselves recognize the real danger that millions of commuters would be left without public transport, adversely affecting their livelihoods and wreaking havoc on the economy. We ask the Court to order respondents to submit to the Court and the Petitioners their latest data sans vague and inaccurate statistics that will describe the real state of the phaseout of PUV
jeepneys.
For Piston, these extensions “do not address the core issues and continue to pose a threat to the livelihoods of thousands of PUV drivers and operators.”
“If the LTFRB only knows about extensions, what’s stopping the government from just scrapping the whole program instead of repeatedly deceiving and playing us around?” Floranda said.
Piston vowed to conduct more transport strikes and protests as long as the government “deems the phaseout of ordinary drivers and operators’ livelihoods as ‘non-negotiable.’” (RTS, JJE)
