Protesters objecting to the phase out of jeepneys hold a demonstration on Monday, Oct. 16, 2017. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER / MARIANNE BERMUDEZ
Protesting jeepney drivers and operators assembled in various places in Metro Manila early Monday for the first day of their two-day nationwide transport strike.
Strikers led by the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) joined the transport holiday, with some closing down their terminals, Radyo Inquirer reported.
The absence of jeepneys in some places prompted commuters to take tricycles, like along Chino Roces avenue in Makati City.
Mostly wearing red and holding banners and placards with calls “No to Jeepney Phase out,” peasant group Kadamay joined the protest along Quezon Avenue in Quezon City, Radyo Inquirer added.
In a statement on Monday, a transport and a labor rights group denied any destabilization plot against President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, saying it was the Chief Executive who was destabilizing himself by “implementing anti-people policies that earns him the ire of Filipino workers and people.”
“Instead of heeding our demands, the government has been building-up a scenario of ‘destabilization’ to justify their harsh or even violent response towards our just and legitimate demands,” said Piston and the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU).
The groups said their demand to junk the jeepney-modernization program of the Duterte government through the Department of Transportation was “just and legitimate.”
“We will not be intimidated by the Duterte government’s threats and intrigues to undermine our 2-day nationwide strike against his anti-poor and pro-big business phase-out scheme,” Piston and KMU added.
Piston and KMU are expected to hold a press conference at 12 noon along Aurora Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City, and a noise barrage and program from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. to highlight their mass action. /cbb