Transport group to conduct nationwide transport strike starting October 16

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Transport group Manibela will conduct a nationwide transport strike starting Monday, October 16, to urge the government to take action on the alleged corruption within the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Manibela Chairman Mar Valbuena, in a press conference on Monday, said about 240,000 traditional jeepneys are expected to join the strike.

The duration of the strike, or until when it will last, is yet to be advised, he said.

“Tigil pasada at mga strike ang mangyayari po sa mga susunod na linggo. Sa susunod na lunes ikakasa namin ang mas malaki [na strike], maging sa mga regional offices ng LTFRB. Isasama po namin ito, lahat ng sasakyan namin…jeepney, lalo na rito sa NCR itatambak na namin sa harap ng Malacañang,” he said.

(Transport cease, and strike will happen in the next few weeks. Next Monday, we will have a bigger [strike], even at the regional offices of the LTFRB. We will bring it together, all our vehicles…jeepneys, especially here in NCR, we will pile them in front of Malacañang.)

In the same meeting, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III’s former assistant, Jeffrey Tumbado, exposed the alleged corrupt practices within the board.

READ: Looking at the transport strike through the lens of jeepney drivers

While he did not discuss in-depth details of his accusations, Tumbado said that it involves not just the LTFRB but also other agencies, including Malacañang.

Aside from the alleged corruption, Valbuena stressed that the scheduled strike also aims to convince the government to solve the “injustices” faced by public utility vehicle drivers on the road.

READ: ‘Libreng Sakay’ in Metro Manila to return in November till December

He likewise called for an extension of the deadline for the traditional jeepney franchise, which is set to end on December 31.

“‘Yung aming prangkisa na pinuputol po ninyo, na pinagkakakitaan lang sa tuwing kami’y magre-renew, ‘yung takot na ibinibigay ninyo sa aming kasamahan, sa aming sektor na araw-araw pinapahirapan ninyo ‘yung mga driver sa mga maling huli, sa mga maling pagpapatupad sa mga maling memorandum circular na ibinibigay ninyo araw-araw kami po ay nagdurusa sa kalsada,” he exclaimed.

(Our franchise that you are cutting, which only earns money every time we renew, the fear that you give to our colleagues, in our sector that every day you torture the drivers with the wrong catches, in wrong implementations of the wrong memorandum circulars that you give every day, we are suffering on the road.)

JPV