Piston cites gov’t threats, asks SC to stop PTMP

LEGAL RECOURSE Piston chair Mody Floranda (center) and legal counsel Kristina Conti (right), together with other members of the transport group, show copies of a motion they filed before the Supreme Court on Monday. The group asked the high tribunal to act on its pending petition to stop the government’s public transport modernization program. —Richard A. Reyes

MANILA, Philippines — Transport group Piston urged the Supreme Court on Monday to act on its pending petition to stop the implementation of the public transport modernization program (PTMP), citing “serious pressure and threat” from the government to force its members to comply with what it called unconstitutional orders.

The motion was filed on the first day of the group’s two-day joint transport strike against the government program with Manibela, which they claimed left thousands of commuters stranded.

Piston’s latest motion was supplemental to its petition for certiorari and prohibition, which included an urgent request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and writ of preliminary injunction filed on Dec. 20, 2023.

READ: Commuters in parts of Metro Manila left stranded amid transport strike

The group wants to stop the implementation of the 2017 omnibus franchising guidelines of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and six memoranda issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) regarding the PTMP.

“Protest and resistance to the forced consolidation program continue, with drivers and operators mounting nationwide transport strikes and commuters joining or supporting,” Piston said in its motion.

Illegal orders

It pointed to “serious pressure and threat from the government” to comply with the “unconstitutional orders.”

Piston further said that many operators and drivers had been compelled to join poorly managed cooperatives, only to find themselves burdened by excessive fees, dues, and contributions, leaving them “financially ruined and saddled with debt.”

“The issuance of a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction would save the petitioners, and similarly situated operators and drivers, from further harm caused by the implementation of the contested resolution,” it added.

The original deadline of Dec. 31, 2023, for operators and drivers to consolidate into corporations or cooperatives was extended by the DOTr and LTFRB to Jan. 31, with finally, up to April 30 this year.

The LTFRB, however, said on Friday that it was considering reopening the application period for another two months.

Thousands affected?

Contrary to the claim of transport officials, thousands of commuters in Metro Manila were left stranded on Monday, Piston and Manibela said as they shared photos and videos of people lined up by the roadsides waiting for a ride.

Several schools in Metro Manila also shifted to online classes out of consideration for students, teachers, and staff who would be heavily affected by the strike.

According to Manibela national chair Mar Valbuena, at least 120,000 of their members and Piston’s joined the protest against the modernization program—with around 25,000 in Metro Manila alone, particularly along the groups’ routes in Caloocan, Manila, Quezon City, Parañaque, Pasay, Pasig, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Taguig.

During a Palace briefing with DOTr officials on Monday, LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III said that no passengers were stranded as he brushed off reports that thousands were affected in parts of Metro Manila.