200 Cebu jeep drivers to join transport rally, then resume work after

CEBU CITY—At least 200 drivers belonging to the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) in Metro Cebu cities will not ply their route on Monday morning to join a rally on Colon Street in downtown Cebu City.

But they are expected to go back to work at 1 p.m. after the rally, said Greg Perez, Piston-Cebu president.

He said members of Piston are set to gather in the different converging areas in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu at 6 a.m. before proceeding to Colon Street where a rally would be held at 10 a.m.

The group from Lapu-Lapu is slated to gather at the foot of the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge in Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City and the parking lot of Pacific Mall in Barangay Paknaan in Mandaue for those from Mandaue. The Cebu City group is set to gather on P. del Rosario Street in front of the Land Bank of the Philippines.

Perez said they had no plans to paralyze the traffic but they only wanted to air their side against the plan to modernize the public utility jeepneys in the country.

“Tomorrow, the main topic of the rally is about ‘World Foodless Day.’ If the plan to modernize the jeepneys will push through, we will lose our jobs and we will go hungry,” he said in Cebuano.

Senior Insp. Narolf Tan said that they will deploy about 50 policemen to keep the peace during the rally.

“We are asking to keep the rally peaceful,” he added. /je