Protesting members of the Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) pressed the government on Monday to scrap its existing plan to modernize the country’s so-called King of the Road.
Piston leader George San Mateo insisted that the Duterte administration should discard its present jeepney modernization program to make it “socially-just” for drivers, operators, and the public.
“Ang gusto naming mangyare ay i-junk noong pamahalaan yung kasalukuyang programa at magbuo ulit ng bagong programa,” Mateo asserted. “At kapag bumuo ulit ng bagong programa dapat ay tunay, genuine modernization, sustainable, mass-oriented, at higit sa lahat, socially-just at ang perspective ay patungo dapat sa mass progression.”
Jeepney drivers and operators in Metro Manila gathered at the Welcome Rotunda in Quezon City; and marched towards the Mendiola Peace Arc near Malacañang in Manila.
In December 2017, the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court (QCMTC) issued a warrant of arrest against San Mateo in relation to the transport strike led by Piston in February 2017.
READ: Piston leader ordered arrested over transport strike
The QCMTC Branch 43, however, eventually ordered the release of San Mateo after posting bail amounting to P4,000.
READ: QC court orders release of San Mateo after posting bail
San Mateo has clarified that Piston is not against modernization. He, however, believed that the end-result of the jeepney upgrade scheme is the jeepney phase out. /kga