Late suspension of classes in Metro Manila draws flak

WHERE’S THE STRIKE? Students of De La Salle University on Taft Avenue in Manila leave their campus after Malacañang suspended classes at all levels because of a reported strike threat by jeepney drivers on Tuesday. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Malacañang drew heavy flak from the public on Tuesday for ordering the cancellation of classes at all school levels in Metro Manila due to a jeepney strike that transport groups never called.

Schools in the metropolis closed at midmorning after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced the cancellation of classes “in view of the actual and/or imminent threats posed by some groups.”

At about 11 a.m., the Palace released a copy of a memo dated March 19 attributing the cancellation of classes to the “organized transport strike” and saying it was necessary to minimize the inconvenience to the riding public.

No strike

It was clearly a day-old memo. Jeepney drivers stayed off the roads on Monday to protest President Rodrigo Duterte’s public transport modernization program that would eliminate old jeepneys and require their replacement with expensive ones that operators could not afford.

But the stoppage was for one day only. No transport group called a strike for Tuesday.

Asked why the memo was released close to noon on Tuesday, Roque said the meeting of the National Security Council executive committee on Monday, in which the President participated, lasted until the early hours of Tuesday.

Roque announced the cancellation of classes when students were already in school.

But he explained that the Palace only wanted to protect the students.

“The threats can arise when students would be unable to find a ride, and that is what we want to avoid,” he said.

“If the students cannot find a ride, they may need to walk home, and if they do this, many possible problems could arise,” he added.

Weeklong action?

Told that Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston), which led Monday’s jeepney strike, had not planned a mass action for Tuesday, Roque replied that the group had said the stoppage could last a week or had threatened to continue it.

“We do not gamble on the safety of students,” he added.

When it became clear that Malacañang had erred, many parents and students vented their ire through social media.

Many bewailed the waste not only of resources but also of time, when students were supposed to be taking their final exams, which were postponed due to Malacañang’s error.

As classes let out after 10 a.m., George San Mateo, president of Piston, blamed the loss of a school day on “fake news” from Roque.

“There is no imminent or actual threat of a strike like the fake news from presidential spokesperson Harry Roque,” San Mateo said.

“There’s no truth to the announcement of Malacañang that there will be a new round of jeepney strike today until Friday. Like what Piston announced [on] March 14, the transport strike was only for Monday,” San Mateo said.

Angry students

Student groups sympathetic to Piston’s stand against the phaseout of old jeepneys joined the condemnation.

The League of Filipino Students (LFS) blamed the cancellation of classes on Malacañang’s “demonization” of transport strikes.

“We condemn this act of divide and conquer by Duterte. He is clearly making a move to pit the interests of students and jeepney drivers against each other when in fact his jeepney modernization [plan] is the very reason [for] the disruption of the daily operations of the drivers and students alike,” Kara Taggaoa, LFS national spokesperson, said in a statement.

Chapters of LFS and the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) at the University of Santo Tomas and University of the Philippines also issued statements or staged small protests to condemn the false information from Malacañang.

“The NUSP condemns the spreading of false information to spread fear among the student body and portray transport groups as threats to the people. We will not condone this act by a government that plans to corporatize public transportation while demonizing groups that oppose such plan,” the group said in a post on Facebook.

Sen. Grace Poe, whose committee on public services is looking into the transport modernization plan, on Tuesday urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to find a “sustainable solution” to the jeepney drivers’ problems concerning the program.

Poe said several transport groups were looking for a source of new but low-cost and environment-friendly jeepneys.

Other groups have proposed that the DOTr consider tapping local manufacturers for the production of better and affordable jeepneys, she said. —With a report from Julius N. Leonen