Commuters stranded as PISTON, MANIBELA stage nationwide transport strike

Some passengers were stranded on Monday morning as transport groups PISTON and MANIBELA held a nationwide transport strike to once again protest the government’s Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).

In a series of Facebook posts, MANIBELA shared photos of stranded passengers in Novaliches, Las Piñas, Caloocan, Pasig, and Cavite.

PISTON president Mody Floranda told Unang Balita that around 6:21 a.m. the protesters started to gather in different areas in the National Capital Region (NCR) and nearby provinces.

“Ang tinatantsa po natin ay aabot ito sa mga 80% to 90% yung lalahok sapagkat ito naming pagkilos na ito ay hindi lamang doon sa mga hindi nag-consolidate kundi mismo yung mga nag-consolidate na mga kooperatiba ay nagpaabot sa akin na sila ay makiisa at sasama dito sa magaganap na pagkilos nga po,” he said.

(Around 80% to 90% of our members will participate because not only those who have not consolidated but also the cooperatives who have consolidated said they will join the protest.)

Some 70,000 PISTON members will join the protest, according to Bam Alegre's report on Unang Balita. Meanwhile, MANIBELA said around 100,000 of its members will participate in the transport strike.

In a statement on Sunday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said the agency is ready for the two-day transport strike organized by PISTON and MANIBELA.

LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said the agency already coordinated with concerned government agencies and local government units (LGUs) for the necessary preparations, which include free rides.

PISTON earlier said the protest action aims to address the following demands of the transport sector:

• junking of the PTMP
• cancellation of forced franchise consolidation
• renewal of franchises and registrations for all public utility vehicle (PUV) operators, including those who choose not to consolidate
• zero budget for PUV phaseout programs, with funding redirected towards the rehabilitation of traditional jeepneys and subsidies for local industries
• allowing those who have entered franchise consolidation to withdraw

Some commuters find difficulty getting a jeepney ride due to transport strike by PISTON and Manibela today @gmanews @24OrasGMA pic.twitter.com/o2DS0H5JyP

— Joseph Morong ???????? (@Joseph_Morong) September 23, 2024

Guadiz said the LTFRB respects the right of drivers and operators to free expression and acknowledges their concerns. However, the LTFRB urged the protesting drivers and operators not to cause heavy traffic on major thoroughfares.

The PTMP — previously called Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) — started in 2017 to replace jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution. It also aims to replace units that are no longer considered roadworthy. 

A modern jeepney unit costs over P2 million, an amount that even state-run banks LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines said was too expensive for PUV drivers and operators.

The consolidation of individual PUV franchises into cooperatives or corporations is the initial stage of the modernization program.

Initially, the LTFRB said that PUVs that did not consolidate after the April 30 deadline would be deemed as “colorum” or a PUV operating without a franchise.

Around 81.11% or 155,513 of 191,730 PUV units have been consolidated as of May, according to the Department of Transportation (DOTr). A total of 36,217 PUVs remained unconsolidated.

For routes, 74.32% or 7,077 of 9,522 have been consolidated while 2,445 routes remained unconsolidated, the DOTr said.

The LTFRB later on allowed unconsolidated jeepneys and UV Express to operate in over 2,500 routes with a low number of consolidations. —KBK/KG, GMA Integrated News