Two transport groups continued with their second day of strike on Tuesday to protest the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program of the government.
Members of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) and Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon or MANIBELA remained at Welcome Rotonda at the boundary of Quezon City and Manila on Tuesday morning after their vigil on Monday night, according to a report by Bam Alegre on Unang Balita.
The protesters occupied the southbound lane of Quezon Avenue from Welcome Rotonda to Blumentritt Street.
The jeepney drivers and operators said their protest action is a sacrifice they are willing to undertake to be able to air their opposition to the PUV modernization program.
“Nakita natin kung gaano kainit ‘yung pakikipaglaban nitong ating mga kasamahan. Sana mahal na Pangulo, ‘yung hinaing po nitong aming mga kasamahan mapakinggan ninyo at hindi ‘yung mga iilan lamang,” MANIBELA chairman Mar Valbuena said.
(We saw how passionate our members are in fighting for their cause. We hope, Mr. President, that you would listen to the appeal of our members, and not just listen to a few.)
MANIBELA said Day 2 of their two-day transport strike will show stronger protest.
Using the roof of a traditional jeepney, one of the speakers addressed the crowd of protesters on Tuesday morning.
Commuters affected by the closure of the southbound lane of Quezon Avenue said they just allotted more time to be able to get rides to their destination.
Valbuena said on Monday there were about 8,000 jeepney drivers and operators who attended the vigil that started around 5 p.m. to protest the consolidation under the PUV Modernization Program.
Visayas
Meanwhile, in Iloilo City in Visayas, the public transportation situation was normal on Tuesday morning and no activities were planned for the day, according to a report by GMA Regional TV One Western Visayas’ Zen Quilantang-Sasa on Unang Balita.
However, on Monday, jeepney drivers held a protest action in Iloilo City.
Drivers said they were not able to reach 15 units as required by the PUV Modernization Program for them to consolidate their franchises into a cooperative.
“Dito nagsimula sa coop-coop na ito. Ito ang sumira sa amin. Hindi lang ako, lahat kami may pinapaaral,” one driver said.
(This started from this coop-coop. This destroyed us. Not just me, but all of us who are sending children to school.)
“Nangako sila na araw-araw magbibigay sila ng 500 pesos. Hanggang ngayon wala kahit singko. Magugutom ang operator at driver kapag ganiyan,” another driver said.
(They promised that they will give us P500 daily. Up to now, we have not received even five centavos. Operators and drivers will go hungry if this goes on.)
Some operators asked that the franchises will still be granted to individuals, not cooperatives.
“Ang isang panawagan namin, kung mag-consolidate ang individual, ibigay sa individual ang pagkakataon na sa kanilang pangalan pa rin ang franchise,” one of them said.
(One of our appeals is that if an individual will consolidate, give him the opportunity to have the franchise be given in his name.)
In Talisay City, Negros Occidental, hundreds of jeepney drivers and operators asked for an extension of the April 30 deadline for PUV consolidation, a part of the PUV Modernization Program.
“Itong kilos-protesta (sana) maisip ng presidente at makita niya na ganito pa karami ang mawawalan ng kabuhayan at magugutom,” UNDOC PISTON chairman Rodolfo Gardoce said.
(With this protest action, hopefully the president will see that many will lose their livelihood and will go hungry.)
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Region 6 said more than 60% of public utility jeeps in Western Visayas have already undergone consolidation.
Started in 2017, the PUV Modernization Program aims to replace traditional jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution and replace units that were not deemed roadworthy under the standards of the Land Transportation Office.
The consolidation of individual PUV franchises in cooperatives or corporations is the initial stage of the program. This aims to pass the burden of acquiring modernized units from operators to the transport entity.
Deadline for the PUV consolidation has been set for April 30. —KG, GMA Integrated News
