A GROUP of jeepney drivers and operators declared on Monday a two-day transport strike, commencing Thursday, in protest of the impending jeepney phaseout.
Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) announced that it is set to mount another nationwide strike to oppose the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), underscoring the call for the deferral of the Dec. 31 deadline for franchise consolidation applications.
“Is this the Christmas gift from the DoTr and LTFRB to us? The loss of livelihood for thousands of drivers and operators? They should be ashamed. They will be causing hunger for many families as the new year begins,” said Mody Floranda, PISTON national president in a statement in Filipino.
The transport group said approximately 80% of all public utility vehicle operators, and many drivers are on the brink of displacement by the end of the year.
The franchise consolidation component of the PUVMP mandates all operators to surrender individual franchises, consolidating them under a cooperative or corporation dedicated to serving a specific route — a principle the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board calls “one route, one franchise, one operator.”
PISTON said that the deadline is not just for franchise consolidation but for the operation of traditional jeepneys, citing that the policy excludes individual operators who cannot afford new franchise fees.
“This scheme leads to monopoly and corporate capture of public transport in the Philippines, as only large, financially viable cooperatives or corporations can comply with the costly modernization standards,” said PISTON.
PISTON is the same group that organized last month’s three-day strike, asserting that it paralyzed major roads in Metro Manila. Last week, the group mounted a protest in the House of Representatives in support of the resolution filed by the Makabayan bloc partylist representatives calling for the deferral of the deadline for franchise consolidation applications.
PISTON claimed 90%-95% of jeepney drivers and operators in Metro Manila joined their strike on Nov. 20-22, which they asserted had caused transport paralysis on major roads in the region. However, the Metro Manila Development Authority downplayed the impact of the three-day transport strike as nothing more than the “normal rush hour” foot traffic situation.
PISTON said associations of jeepney operators and drivers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, unaffiliated with the group, have also expressed their intention to participate in the strike. — Jomel R. Paguian