PNP: Transport strike ‘peaceful’ but ‘hardly felt’
Metro cops return security alert to normal
By Riza T. Olchondra, Abigail Kwok, Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net, Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 09:23:00 05/12/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATE 5) The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has downgraded its alert status from full to normal Monday evening following the day’s "peaceful and orderly" but "hardly felt" transport strike.
Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Avelino Razon Jr. shared the same assessment of the nationwide protest called by the leftist Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston, United Organizations of Drivers and Operators Nationwide) to protest the continuing increase in fuel prices, demand the scrapping of the expanded value added tax on oil products, and the repeal of the oil deregulation law.
Earlier, the PNP said the transport holiday was hardly felt, except in the Bicol region (Region 5) and Davao (Region 11).
"We have expected that this transport holiday staged by Piston will not really have a huge effect on the movement of commuters," Razon said in a statement.
Nevertheless, Razon commended the cooperation of transport sector leaders, the commuting public, local governments and security officials for the keeping the protest peaceful.
NCRPO Director Geary Barias said there was no need to extend the highest alert status declared for the strike as.
Thompson Lantion, chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), said only two percent of jeepney operators and drivers participated in the nationwide strike, intended
But Piston declared the protest a success, with affiliates in Mindanao reportedly paralyzing public transport in at least seven cities and, in Western Visayas, the major cities of Bacolod and Iloilo, and Iloilo and Aklan provinces, also coming to a virtual standstill.
George San Mateo, Piston secretary general, said their protest was not a numbers game.
What was important, he said, was they were able to express their dismay over the continuing oil price hikes.
Lantion acknowledged this, saying despite its lack of success, the transport strike created awareness among the public about the need for immediate solutions on the continuing rise in fuel prices.
There were hardly any reports of violence except for an incident in Laguna province where a conductor was injured when members of striking transport groups stoned a bus going to Manila along the national highway in Barangay (village) San Francisco, San Pablo, provincial police director Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas said.
Also in Laguna, police in San Pedro arrested12 striking jeepney drivers for allegedly throwing nails on the streets and harassing drivers who refused to join the strike.
Rojas claimed the arrested drivers admitted receiving orders from Patrajoda, a Piston affiliate, to completely paralyze all public utility vehicles.
"The strike is hardly felt as of this time [in Metro Manila] but we are still ready to respond to the public," Director Geary Barias, chief of the National Capital Region Office (NCRPO) at a press conference in Camp Crame Monday afternoon.
Barias said commuters were "not really stranded" and the police trucks and service vehicles earlier deployed have not been used yet.
In southern Metro Manila, Chief Superintendent Luizo Ticman of the Southern Police District said the strike made a dent only in Alabang. “Except for a minor strike in Alabang in Muntinlupa City, the situation in southern Metro Manila is still normal,” said
Police said there were no incidents of stranded passengers or severely affected routes in Pasay City and Taguig City.
Barias said that, except for 14 rallies reported in various areas in Quezon City, the strike had been generally peaceful.
Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, PNP spokesman, said police in Bicol reported that 30 percent of public transport was paralyzed in Camarines Sur and 80 percent in Albay. In Davao, some 50 percent of public transport was paralyzed, he added.
He said in Western Visayas (Region 6) and Caraga (Region 13), there were minimal reports of disruption. But transport groups in Cebu did not join the strike.
"There were few reports and the strike was not felt by the riding public. Generally, the entire country is very peaceful and orderly," Bartolome said.
The NCRPO is expected to downgrade its alert status to normal from full by the end of the day.
In Mindanao, Piston claimed to have 70 to 95 percent of public transport in at least seven cities.
In Davao City, Edel Gonzaga, spokesperson of Piston in Southern Mindanao, said 95 percent of public utility vehicles did not ply their routes as early as Sunday midnight. But Senior Superintendent Jaime Morente, city police chief, said only 50 percent of the public transport in the city was paralyzed.
Morente said taxis and buses continued to ply their routes.
In the cities of Tagum and Panabo in Davao del Norte, the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasants’ Movement in the Philippines) said 90 percent of public transport drivers and operators joined the strike and did not ply their routes.
In Cagayan de Oro City, police reported 85 percent paralysis in public transportation. Militant groups, however, claimed 95 percent. Butuan City had 95 percent paralysis, according to Willie Cubillas, president of the Butuan Transport Federation.
At least 70 percent of public transport joined the strike in Iligan City.
Ninety percent of public transport in General Santos City also took part in the strike, Piston said.
But the situation in other parts of Central Mindanao was normal as the United Transport Coalition of Drivers and Operators in that region chose to wait for the decision of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on its petition for a fare hike.
The group is asking the LTFRB to increase its minimum fare by P1.50, to P7.50.
The LTFRB central office is set to hear Mindanao's fare hike proposal on Thursday.
In Central Luzon, only drivers in Angeles City joined the protest, with about 60 percent of the 15,000 jeepneys serving the city suspending operations, according to Angie Ladera, chair of the Workers Alliance in Region 3.
In Baguio City, there was no strike.
In Laguna, Rojas said transport groups were able to paralyze 30 percent of the transport routes in the province.
But Lantion and officials of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) systems said the transport situation remained normal.
Among the solutions to the continuing oil price hikes that the LTFRB is considering, said Lantion, are the additional P2 government subsidy on fuel and the provisional fare increase to be given to all transport groups.
Lantion admitted that although these solutions would not be enough, the agency was doing everything it could to help the drivers.
“Enough is not enough, but at least we are here to provide mitigating measures to transport groups,” he said.
The LTFRB is set to decide on the petition for provisional fare increase within the next few weeks. The agency is also set to meet with the Department of Finance (DoF), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), and Department of Transportation and Communication (DoTC) on Tuesday for the immediate approval of the P2 government subsidy on fuel for transport operators.
Lantion disputed the claim of success made by Piston secretary general George San Mateo.
“Based on our reports from the field, the strike is generally peaceful and 98% of the jeepneys are plying their route,” Lantion said.
Other transport groups like Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Pasang Masda, and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP) did not join the strike.
“Karapatan ng Piston na mag-rally [It is the right of Piston to hold a rally],” ALTODAP national president Boy Vargas said. “Pero kung magtitigil-pasada kami ngayong may LTFRB hearing, baka kami naman ang balikan at sabihing may hearing tapos mag-rarally kami [But if we were to hold a rally while there is a hearing at the LTFRB, they might get back at us by saying that we are holding a rally while the hearing is ongoing].”
But Vargas said if LTFRB does not grant them the provisional fare increase, they would also consider a transport strike.
But San Mateo insisted the strike was successful.
Earlier in the day, San Mateo said different cities in the country were nearing 100% transport paralysis.
As of 9 a.m., Monday, Novaliches was already 50% paralyzed, Alabang 100%, Pasig-Taytay 80%, Pasig-Quiapo 60%, Divisoria-Baclaran 60%, Monumento-Baclaran 60%, San Mateo said.
Public transportation, mostly jeepneys, was 98 percent paralyzed in Albay and 95 percent off the streets in the provinces of Sorsogon, Camarines Sur, and Camarines Norte, according to Piston chapters in these provinces.
In Catanduanes, transportation was 100 percent paralyzed in Virac town only, said Joel Ascutia, president of the Concerned Drivers and Operators for Reforms-Piston (Condor-Piston) in Bicol.
Ascutia said the few public utility jeepneys in Masbate also supported the strike by distributing leaflets and streamers.
The absence of public transportation disrupted office work in Legazpi City in Albay even as trucks from the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy, and the Philippine National Police rushed to help stranded passengers.
In a major business process outsourcing company in Legazpi City, more than 50 percent of the employees in its content department were absent from work, said a 21-year-old employee who refused to be named for not having authorization to talk to the media.
She said most of those who skipped work were those living in the northeastern and northwestern towns in Albay.
Some vehicles stopped plying their routes as early as midnight Sunday.
As of 6:30 a.m. in Mindanao, transport was paralyzed in Iligan City, 100%; Cagayan de Oro, 99%; Kidapawan City, 97%, and Cotabato City 100%, said Piston’s San Mateo.
In the past, striking drivers in Metro Manila stopped ferrying passengers by 9 a.m., when they had earned enough to cover basic daily expenses such as food. That was when the passenger volumes at the LRT and MRT would start to swell. But LRT and MRT officials said that so far, passenger turnovers were at their normal levels as of Monday morning.
"Line 1 is 355,000. We are using 31 trains or a total of 105 coaches. Line 2 is 140,000 passengers using 10 trains. So far everything is like the usual, normal Mondays," LRT spokesperson Jinky Jorgio said in a text message.
"Our passenger volume is always more than the maximum capacity of 350,000 persons per day. Monday is usually 460,000 persons per day," MRT general manager Robert Lastimoso said.
Lantion said that LRT and MRT passenger numbers usually indicated whether commuters were shifting to the trains from jeepneys, buses, and taxis.
Lantion said that in Metro Manila and certain provinces such as Bicol and Davao, Piston commanded 5 to 10 percent of the PUV public utility vehicles. But in terms of nationwide numbers, Piston commands only about four percent of the 450,000 or so public utility vehicles (PUVs) nationwide, according to Lantion.
"There are about 450,000 public utility vehicles in the country, with about 200,000 operating in Mega Manila [Metro Manila and surrounding provinces]. Piston may have about 20,000 PUVs," he said. "But even for the afternoon, we are not worried, because the other groups are not on strike," Lantion said.
Still, Lantion said, 20 buses lent by some bus groups would remain on standby to provide free rides to selected routes if needed. If deployed, the buses could be identified through a "Libreng Sakay" (Free Ride) sign. This is the same sign placed on vehicles prepared by the National Capital Region Police Office and other agencies.
Lantion also appealed to striking drivers not to use force or intimidation to coerce other drivers into joining the strike. He expressed confidence that the police personnel deployed in Metro Manila could maintain order.
The LTFRB said that under tight watch were Piston turfs on Kamuning St. and the Cubao area in Quezon City. Also under tight watch are Bicol and Davao, where local Piston chapters have strong memberships.
Piston announced on Friday that its major strike points would be in Alabang, Monumento (in front of Grand Central), Novaliches Bayan, Cubao, Marikina, Taytay Market, Kalayaan Avenue corner Kamias, Welcome Rotonda, Philcoa and Pier South at the Aduana Circle.
In Makati it was business as usual as “almost 100 percent” plied their usual routes, said Bemindo Jose, president of the United Transport Federation of Makati, the biggest organization of jeepney drivers and operators in the city.
Jose said his organization, with a membership of about 4,000 drivers and operators, decided not to join the strike because the cause was "unclear."
Hermenegildo San Miguel, director of Makati's Department of Public Safety, said the movement of jeepneys on the streets had been normal so far.
"We haven't received any complaints so far. The situation is very normal," he said.
Lantion said that the LTFRB would investigate whether there was a need to sanction the strikers with either suspension or revocation of their franchise.
But San Mateo branded this as a form of “harassment.”
“Ang gobyerno dinadaan sa harassment upang takutin ang mga driver [The government is using harassment to scare the drivers],” San Mateo said.
Lantion denied this, saying the agency was just reminding the operators and drivers of their responsibility to the riding public.
“Pinapaalalahanan lang namin sa kanila ang kanilang responsibilidad sa mamamayan [We are just reminding them of their responsibility to the people],” Lantion said.
Lantion added that Piston would have to explain their absence at the provisional fare hike hearing at the LTFRB.
Piston is asking for a P1 provisional fare increase.
“Piston needs to explain before the Board their actions when they have a pending petition for a provisional fare increase,” he said.
But Lantion said there was no guarantee that the result of Piston’s petition would be affected by the transport strike.
With reports from DJ Yap, Julie M. Aurelio, Inquirer; Niña Catherine Calleja, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer; Jeffrey Tupas, Ma. Cecilia Rodriguez, Franklin Caliguid, Edwin O. Fernandez, Charlie C. Señase, Frinston Lim, Aquiles Z. Zonio, Richel Umel, Inquirer Mindanao; Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon; Elmer Kristian Dauigoy, Inquirer Northern Luzon
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