DESPITE government officials downplaying the effect of the first day of the transport strike, groups of jeepney drivers and operators are continuing with their week-long, nationwide protest today to press their call to protect their livelihood and stop their effective phaseout. 

The Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide or PISTON said groups would continue their mass movement until the government says it would junk the phaseout of the jeepney, which would deprive most of them of their source of income.  

They are also calling for a more just transition to modernization. 

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has given traditional jeepneys a December 31 deadline to consolidate or join cooperatives or corporations so that they could continue operating. The consolidation is part of the government’s efforts to modernize public utility vehicles in the country.  The LTFRB had said this would not result in their immediate phaseout.

“Tuloy ang welga! Tuloy ang tigil pasada hangga’t hindi binabasura ang patakaran sa PUV phaseout na nagtatanggal ng mga prangkisa ng mga operator para ibigay sa malalaking negosyo,” PISTON said in a statement. 

It called on groups and the public to continue to support jeepney drivers and operators. 

Tinataya ng mga operator at drayber ang kanilang kabuhayan at kanilang pamilya sa welga. Mangangailangan ng donasyon at suporta ng taumbayan upang matulungan ang mga welgista,”

PISTON

Manibela, another group involved in the strike, also said the protest would continue today.

The groups likewise countered government officials’ statement that the transport strike’s first day had a minimal effect on public transportation.

Strike felt in Metro 

PISTON described the first day of the strike as successful and said 80 percent of cities and 100 percent of routes in Metro Manila were affected. 

He said operators, drivers, and other sectors were able to show unity for their call. 

Patunay ito ng lawak ng apektado ng isyu at lakas ng ating laban. Hindi tayo nagpatinag sa pananakot, pandarahas, at red-tagging sa ating mga kampuhang bayan,”

PISTON

Number coding is back 

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority earlier said the strike failed to paralyze public transportation in the capital region.

It also lifted the suspension of the number coding scheme beginning today. It earlier halted the implementation of the scheme in anticipation of the transport strike, but decided to resume it after noticing heavier traffic on Monday.

Support for jeepney drivers 

The Move as One Coalition, a group of organizations and individuals calling for a safer, more humane, and more inclusive public transportation system in the country, expressed its support for the protest of the jeepney drivers and organizations.

The coalition said the drivers’ and operators’ fate is closely tied with that of commuters, and they should not be pitted against each other. 

Commuters would also suffer if there won’t be enough public transportation on the streets due to jeepney drivers failing to transition to the modernized vehicles, it said.

It said most drivers are not against the idea of modernization, but it is too costly and difficult for them to make the transition immediately. This is why the implementation of the program appears to be a phaseout.

What the jeepney sector wants is a way to move toward modernization without drivers and operators being left behind, it said. But despite letters, dialogues, and congressional hearings, the program still fails to take into account the welfare of stakeholders.

The government, instead of blaming the protesting groups and ignoring their claims, should listen to them and ask them how they could work together, the coalition said. 

“Kaya kami’y tumitindig kasama ng lahat ng magsasakripisyo ng ilang araw na kita para mapakinggan ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang hinaing ng sektor ng transportasyon,” it said.