Cops block groups protesting PUV modernization program

NO ENTRY Antiriot police block the protest caravan of Manibela and Piston, transport groups who have gone to the Supreme Court to question the legality of the government’s modernization program for public utility vehicles (PUVs) on España Boulevard, Manila. PUVs not yet consolidated into cooperatives or corporations will be deemed illegal after Jan. 31.— RICHARD A. REYES

MANILA, Philippines — Groups opposed to the government’s Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program staged another protest on Tuesday to push their demand for the scrapping of the program that requires PUV operators and drivers to consolidate and form transportation cooperatives and corporations to modernize their fleets.

Members of the Manibela coalition led by its chair Mar Valbuena and the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide gathered on the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City, where they held a program before proceeding to Manila.

But the caravan, composed of about 50 jeepneys and dozens of motorcycles, was blocked by police from going to Chino Roces Bridge near Malacañang. The protesters instead held a program on España Boulevard, causing heavy traffic in the area.

The Philippine National Police deployed around 5,000 police to “ensure public security and safety” during the transport protest.

Out of line

Valbuena, however, claimed that their members and supporters from Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite and Laguna were blocked by police on roads going to Metro Manila.

Valbuena added that others were barred from traversing expressways for being “out of line” and that law enforcers even confiscated their licenses.

However, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chair Teofilo Guadiz III, in a statement, said the agency does not tolerate any act of disrupting the movement of commuters that could risk their livelihood or studies.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo also denied Valbuena’s accusations that police blocked protesters from Cavite and Bulacan, saying some jeepneys were held at checkpoints for being “out of line” and failing to provide necessary documents.