AT least 24 Kaohsiung buses and several barangay vehicles were on standby in anticipation of a transport strike in Cebu City yesteday but they weren’t needed afterall.
“We were preparing all the buses and contacted the barangays to make their vehicles available should the need arise but no strike ever happened,” said Rafael Yap, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) head.
Yap said drivers were seen gathering in Mandaue City, but they “didn’t stage a transport strike.”
Members of a transport group joined militants in a protest march to a Petron oil depot in barangay Looc, Mandaue City.
Militant groups like Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Anakpawis joined members of the Nagkahiusang Driver sa Sugbo (NADSU) in the march, holding placards and banners to denounce the spate of oil price increases.
While it caused traffic snarls, there was no untoward incident, said police.
The groups called for a P9 oil price rollback and the abolition of both the 12 percent value added tax and the oil deregulation law.
“We’re not calling for a transport holiday but we are just encouraging them to join a march protest for a few hours.” said NADSU member Edwardo Geolin.
In Cebu City, public transport was unaffected said Senior Supt. Melvin Buenafe, Cebu City police chief.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he was glad that transport groups in Cebu didn’t join other groups in Metro Manila in staging a transport strike.
“There are enough people there (Manila) to voice their concerns to the government. They need not join here.” he said.
Cebu City Councilor Ritchie Osmeña said the operators may have realized that they are the ones who suffer if they stage a transport strike.
“I guess they already took into consideration their livelihood because they themselves suffer directly,” Osmeña said. Edison delos Angeles and Norman V. Mendoza, Correspondents with Reporter Candeze R. Mongaya and Correspondent Chito Aragon