Transport groups set protests vs modernization until September

MANILA, Philippines — A number of commuters in Metro Manila were stranded on Monday after members and supporters of transport group Manibela pushed through with the first day of a transport strike aimed at convincing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to scrap the public transport modernization program (PTMP).

Four buses of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority were deployed to assist passengers stuck along the Edsa Muñoz-Pantranco and Fisher Mall-Welcome Rotunda routes in Quezon City.

Manibela chair Mar Valbuena said their three-day protest, which was earlier scheduled to start on Aug. 14, would focus on 11 “protest centers” in Metro Manila, including areas in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Manila, Marikina, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Pasig and Quezon City.

READ: PUV modernization: Filipino jeepneys out, China imports in

Transport groups have also warned of a series of strikes from August to September as a “show of disdain” for the President’s insistence to proceed with the implementation of the PTMP, despite the strong call from the Senate to suspend it.

All but one of the 23 sitting senators signed Senate Resolution No. 1096, urging Marcos to suspend its implementation.

According to Piston (Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide) national president Mody Floranda, their group and other stakeholders, including labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno, would join the ongoing transport strike of Manibela to oppose what they called a “false and bogus” modernization scheme.

DRIVERS’ CALL Members of transport group Piston gather at the main office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on East Avenue, Quezon City, on Monday to call on the agency to stop the phaseout of traditional jeepneys. —Grig C. Montegrande

“The current program does not serve the interest of the Filipinos. That’s why we declare that August and September are months of protest. We will do a series of activities, not only in the National Capital Region, but in the entire country,” Floranda said in a press briefing on Monday.

March to Malacañang

By 6 a.m. on Wednesday, the anti-PTMP groups will conduct a big protest where 5,000 to 15,000 of their members will march from Welcome Rotunda to Mendiola, outside the gates of Malacañang, to send their message to the President.

Floranda said they were expecting the police to block them from reaching Mendiola, as in their previous protests, but urged authorities to be fair after pro-PTMP groups were allowed to do their “unity walk” along the same route last week.

They will also conduct protest marches and programs in front of the local offices of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

Transport strikes will also be conducted by their members in key cities outside Metro Manila, including those in southern Luzon, Bicol, Baguio City, Iloilo, Panay and Davao.

Piston also urged workers, the commuting public, and all affected people to join them in their protests against the PTMP.

Launched in 2017, the PTMP, formerly the public utility vehicle modernization program or PUVMP, aims to transform the public transport system by making both commuting and public transportation operations “more dignified, humane, and on par with global standards.”

Much delayed

The first phase of the program, which is the consolidation phase, had been delayed multiple times due to opposition and the pandemic.

President Marcos ordered the final consolidation deadline set on April 30 this year.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the consolidation rate reached 83.38 percent, with the Office of Transport Cooperatives accrediting 1,781 cooperatives with 262,870 members.

Currently, the government is determining the appropriate number of PUV units that should serve a particular route.

According to Bautista, there are 6,090 consolidated routes and 71 percent of local government units have submitted their draft local public transport route plan for review and approval by the DOTr and LTFRB.

There are 11,165 Philippine National Standards-compliant modern jeepneys and PUVs operating nationwide and cooperatives can choose from 80 PUV models being offered by 28 manufacturers and assemblers, of which 58 percent are from 16 local assemblers.

Transport groups are protesting the high cost of the modern PUVs—around P2.5 million per unit—and the possible displacement of thousands of drivers and operators who could not comply. —with a report from Inquirer Research