Bicol transport strike tagged as failure

LEGAZPI CITY—Militant transport groups failed to muster enough numbers to paralyze transport operations in Bicol in a strike aimed at protesting the continued increase in fuel prices.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Bicol said the groups tried to disrupt public transport in Albay, Sorsogon and Camarines Sur but only a small number of drivers took part in the one-day strike on Saturday.

The strike was not felt in Legazpi City and disrupted only about 30 percent of transport systems in the Albay towns of Ligao, Daraga, Malinao, Bacacay, Pio Duran, Jovellar, Oas and Guinobatan, according to OCD regional director Bernardo Alejandro.

In Sorsogon, only a few public utility jeep (PUJ) drivers in Sorsogon City and the towns of Matnog and Gubat took part in the strike, he added.

In Camarines Sur, transport operation was normal except in Naga City where only 20 percent of the PUJ drivers joined the nationwide transport strike, Alejandro said.

No transport strike was reported in Camarines Norte and in the island provinces of Masbate and Catanduanes.

The poor participation in the one-day strike was mainly due to the refusal of other drivers’ groups to join the strike, said Senior Supt. Renato Bataller, spokesperson of the Philippine National Police in Bicol.

He said most PUJ and tricycle drivers went on their daily routines despite the call made by the militant group Concerned Drivers and Operators-Piston for massive protests against oil price increases.