Citom ready for strike

THE threat of a nationwide transport strike on Monday  has lost steam but the Cebu  City government is ready  in case it pushes through.

Twenty-four  Kaoshiung buses will be standing by to ferry stranded passengers, and checkpoints have been identified, said Sylvan Jakosalem, chairman of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management.

While no Cebu transport group announced  it would join the protest against rising fuel prices  by the group Piston, Citom is prepared for a worst-case scenario.

““That could be  a tactic to announce that you aren’t joining a strike.   But you  never know, so we’ll just be prepared,” he said.

Citom already met with heads of the  Land Transportation Office,  Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board  and the  police for contingency measures.

The threat of a nationwide strike  was lessened after a meeting Wednesday with President Benigno Aquino III and other government officials  with transport groups.

Only the militant Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) said it will push through with the strike on Monday.

The other three transport groups—the Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators and the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines—agreed not to  proceed.

“We did not get any guarantee from the President that he will do something about high fuel prices,” Piston secretary general George San Mateo said in an interview.

Mateo said Piston respected the decision of the other transport groups to back out but he claimed that Piston had the backing of smaller transport groups. /Correspondent Edison A. delos Angeles with  INQUIRER