THE transport strike staged by PISTON and Manibela failed to disrupt public transport during the rush hours yesterday morning, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
“So far, as of this morning, there was no disruption in public transport. The jeepneys are plying their routes. In fact, we have not deployed any of the 400 vehicles that we have readied for augmentation to provide free rides,” MMDA Chairperson Romando Artes said.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chief Teofilo Guadiz III echoed Artes’ statement, saying the strike did not paralyze the transport system because the majority of drivers and operators, already more than 77 percent, have joined the PUV consolidation program.
The two transport groups are holding a two-day strike to protest the April 30 deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicle drivers and operators as part of the modernization program.
President Marcos Jr. had said the April 30 deadline for PUV operators and drivers to consolidate into cooperatives or corporations would no longer be extended.
The PNP said it has not monitored any untoward incident so far, with PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo adding they have not monitored any stranded commuters.
“So far, we have not recorded any untoward incident nationwide,” Fajardo said. “I’ve spoken to personnel of the NCRPO (National Region Police Office). They said they have not monitored any stranded commuters.”
Like the MMDA, Fajardo said the PNP made available vehicles to transport people affected by the transport strike.
“Our arrangement is that if there are stranded people in certain areas, vehicles of the PNP and of other concerned agencies are available to extend assistance,” said Fajardo. “But so far, we have not monitored stranded (commuters).”
Artes said some members of PISTON and Manibela told the agency they would ply their routes early in the morning to earn for their families before joining the “tigil pasada” later.
“The number one affected by the transport strike is their members who earn no income for their families. The President has extended the deadline several times. Again, so far, there was no disruption in public transport due to the strike by the two transport groups,” Artes said.
The MMDA did not suspend the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program or number coding scheme in the metropolis.
There was, however, a noticeable drop in the number of jeepneys on the road yesterday morning in Commonwealth Ave. and the Elliptical Road in Quezon City.
At the Baclaran jeepney station in Paranaque, drivers plying the Baclaran-Divisoria route who are PISTON members stayed put at the terminal. Some of them held signs condemning the phaseout of traditional jeepneys.
Manibela president Mar Valbuena had said the two-day transport strike will be participated in by some 30,000 jeepney drivers in Metro Manila and 100,000 nationwide.
LTRFB DATA
As of April 1, LTFRB data showed the PUV consolidation rate nationwide stood at 77.7 percent, with the National Capital Region having the lowest consolidation rate at 52.5 percent, followed by Region 11 with 56.7 percent and Region 3 with a 79.4 percent consolidation rate.
The LTFRB said the Central Region, Region 4B, and Region 12 have recorded a 100 percent consolidation rate.
Guadiz reiterated that PUV drivers and operators who do not join the consolidation program by the end of April would be apprehended starting May 1.
Guadiz said the franchise of operators who fail to satisfactorily explain why they failed to join the consolidation would be terminated.
In a related development, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) yesterday received 600,000 more plastic cards being used to print driver’s licenses.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor Mendoza II said the arrival of the plastic cards would ensure continuity in the agency’s efforts to address the backlog in plastic-printed driver’s licenses.
The first one million pieces of plastic cards were delivered last March 25 after the Court of Appeals lifted the injunction order on the delivery of the remaining undelivered plastic cards from Banner Plastic that were procured last year.
Meanwhile, Antipolo City Mayor Jun Ynares said over 2,000 members of the Federation of Antipolo Public Transport Operators and Drivers Inc. will not join the two-day transport strike. — With Victor Reyes, Myla Iglesias and Christian Oineza
