PNP deploys over 18,000 cops for two-day transport strike

Transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) holds a strike on December 14 in protest of the December 31 deadline for franchise consolidation applications. INQUIRER.net photo / Arnel Tacson

MANILA, Philippines — More than 18,000 personnel were deployed nationwide to ensure public security and safety amid the two-day transport strike, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported Thursday.

According to PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo, 18,564 policemen were sent across the country, along with patrol vehicles and automobiles dispatched for free rides to aid affected commuters.

“We deployed 18,564, of which 13,000 were in the National Capital Region (NCR), while the rest were sent to Calabarzon and Region 6 (Western Visayas),” she said in a press briefing on Thursday.

Fajardo likewise revealed that they had monitored around 60 areas wherein transport groups staged a protest. These rallies were held in NCR, Calabarzon, and Western Visayas.

READ: NCRPO to deploy 4,400 cops in Metro Manila for two-day transport strike

Despite this, the PNP official said the ongoing strike was deemed “peaceful.”

READ: As strike looms, gov’t moves jeepney franchise deadline

The National Capital Region Police Office earlier reported deploying 152 patrol vehicles to monitor the situation and 147 other vehicles to ferry affected commuters.

Last Dec. 11, the transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) announced that it would conduct a strike on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 14 and 15.

According to Piston, its move protests the Dec. 31 deadline for franchise consolidation and phaseout of traditional Jeepneys.