TNVS strike still on, but drivers may choose not to join

PERSONAL CHOICE A coalition of TNVS groups has left it to drivers to decide whether or not to join today’s strike. —RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) drivers will forge ahead with their “transport holiday” today, but the impact of the strike on commuters could be far less extensive than initially projected by organizers.

A loose coalition of TNVS groups announced the mass action last week to protest the allegedly unreasonable policies of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), but some appear to have rethought the strike after the agency agreed to a dialogue with drivers.

Ninoy Mopas, president of the TNVS group Thug Philippines, circulated a statement saying the transport holiday would push through although they would “give the freedom to each and every one of our members to go online or offline.”

This amounted to a free pass for drivers uneasy about joining the strike, which was originally set between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. today, Monday.

These drivers could do “what their heart desires,” especially if nonparticipation would ease the burden on the riding public, Mopas said in an interview.

Dialogue with LTFRB

“We attained what we wanted, which was a dialogue with the LTFRB,” he added. “We wanted to be heard and have an opportunity to air our grievances.”

Eric Gabriel Fernandez, president of the Transport Network Vehicle Representatives (TNVR), an alliance of TNVS groups, also issued a statement that left it to the leaders of each group to decide whether or not to join.

Fernandez, however, said the TNVR had decided “to serve the riding public on this day.”

The LTFRB set the dialogue for Tuesday, July 9, to “address concerns of TNVS operators on the process of accreditation and the necessity of such regulations and requirements.”