Piston mounts 4th transport strike

GOODBYE TO KING OF THE ROAD? Piston is not about to give in quietly to the government’s plan to modernize the ubiquitous jeepney. —INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Militant transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) will mount its fourth strike today against the jeepney modernization program with its leader saying the protests will go on until the government draws up a more “socially just” plan for upgrading the “King of the Road.”

Today’s mass action, just like the group’s previous transport strikes, will be held in Metro Manila and the nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and Rizal. Piston will once again press its call for the junking of the modernization program which aims to replace aging and dilapidated jeepneys (15-year-old and above models) with units compliant with Euro-4 emission standards.

 Loss of livelihood

According to George San Mateo, Piston national president, the group is opposed to the program spearheaded by the Department of Transportation as it will only result in the loss of livelihood for thousands of jeepney operators and drivers.

For one, Land Bank of the Philippines and Development Bank of the Philippines have set aside only around P3 billion for credit facility programs for the jeepney modernization plan, he said.

This means that only around 2,000 drivers can be accommodated during the initial phase of the three-year transition, San Mateo added.

DOTr officials earlier said that a P2.2-billion subsidy would be given to around 27,500 affected drivers to cover the 5-percent equity imposed by the government banks. Loans under the program carry a 6-percent interest and are payable within seven years.

Data from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, however, showed that there were more than 200,000 jeepneys nationwide.

Most up  for replacement

Of the total, 90 percent were 15 years old or above and should be replaced under the modernization program.

The main concern of jeepney drivers and operators was that they would end up being buried in debt since the new units cost up to P1.6 million each.

Through the strike, San Mateo said they were hoping to “expose to the public the insufficiency of the program and the government’s unpreparedness” to roll out what had been dubbed the biggest noninfrastructure program of the Duterte administration.

Meanwhile, the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic has formed a “joint quick response team” to deploy vehicles to ferry stranded passengers and apprehend “unruly” strike participants, according to Jojo Garcia, acting Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager.

Joint team members

The team will be composed of the MMDA, the Land Transportation Office, the LTFRB, Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group and local government units.

Garcia said that at least 50 vehicles, including MMDA buses and Army trucks, would be deployed. The LTFRB was also in talks with bus companies while LGUs would deploy their own shuttle vehicles.

“We are ready and prepared for strikes, not because we are afraid. We just don’t want the public to suffer. Strikers aim to inconvenience people to send out a message,” he added.