PISTON Cebu will join the nationwide transport strike on Monday (l–r) Niño Olayvar, Anakbayan Cebu chairperson; Jaime Paglinawan, Bayan Central Visayas chairperson; and Greg Perez, Piston Cebu coordinator made this announcement during a press conference yesterday.
CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO
To protest the phaseo ut of old jeepneys, the 700-member Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor (Piston) will join the nationwide transport strike, dubbed “Tigil Pasada.”
Greg Perez, coordinator of Piston Cebu, announced during a press conference yesterday that 80 percent of public transportation in Metro Cebu would be affected.
“We are one with our group in Manila as we oppose the phasing out of 15-year-old jeepneys,” Perez said in Cebuano.
The “Tigil Pasada” will start at 4 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Monday followed by a protest rally in front of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7.
Preparations
In Mandaue City, 200 members of Tricycle sa Mandaue will also support Piston Cebu’s activity.
Affected tricycle routes in Mandaue City will include Paknaan, Hernan Cortes and Cabancalan areas.
The Mandaue City government will place seven vehicles on standby to ferry stranded commuters to Cebu City, Consolacion and Lapu-Lapu City.
Glenn Antigua, operations chief of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team), said should the number of stranded commuters be higher than expected, coasters and dump trucks will be deployed to accommodate them.
Antigua said Romeo Armamento, vice president of the National Confederation of Transportworkers Union (NCTU)–Visayas informed him that the group will meet today to finalize their decision whether or not to join the nationwide strike.
“We have already made preparations in case the group decides to join the strike on Monday. The reserved vehicles will be deployed beginning 5 a.m. onwards. We are also anticipating that a surge of commuters will be out in the streets very early on that day,” Antigua said.
Some of the vehicles will be on standby at the Mandaue City Hall while others will be deployed in areas in the city where flow of commuters is high.
Drop-off points for the vehicles will be at the Ayala Center Cebu Terminal, SM City Cebu and Foodland in A.S. Fortuna Street, Banilad for commuters bound for Cebu City while drop-off points for those headed to the north of Cebu will be at SM City Consolacion. The rides are free of charge.
Letters
Meanwhile, Piston Cebu sent letters to schools and colleges in Metro Cebu informing them of their activity, which could affect public transportation.
They apologized to the riding public, saying they just wanted to express their opposition to the government’s plant to phase out old jeepneys.
“Unsay mahitabo sa atoang mga drivers, wala na silay income. Kadaghanan sa sumasakay maapektihan usab kung mapatuman na ang pag phase out sa old jeepneys,” he said.
(Jeepney drivers will lose their livelihood. The majority of our riding public will also be affected since they usually rely on jeepneys.)
Perez and his group believe that modernization of public utility vehicles will pave the way for big corporations to control the mass transportation.
“They just want the jeepneys to be privatized which is more advantageous for the big capitalists,” Perez said.
Fifteen-year-old jeepneys and beyond will not be granted a “Certificate of Confirmation” as “for hire” and will not be allowed to continue operating.
These will be replaced by electric jeepneys. Brand new vehicles must come from Land Transportation Office (LTO) suppliers and should be equipped with global positioning satellite (GPS) and automated fare collection device.
The jeepneys and operators should also be with private corporations under the Fleet Management Program.
Reynaldo Elnar, assistant director of LTFRB-7, said, “We encourage transport groups to submit counter proposals and we will forward this to our central office instead of holding activity that will affect public transport.”
In an official statement sent to Cebu Daily News, LTFRB-7 Director Ahmed Cuizon said, “Ako pang gitan-aw ang sitwasyon sa pagkakaron, apan akong gihangyo ang mga taga PISTON nga dili lang moapil sa welga. Kung unsa man gani ang ilang mga reklamo, mas maayo nga modangop lang sila sa mga legal nga paagi sama sa pagpetisyon, pagsang-at og reklamo sa hukmanan o pagpakigsulti sa atong mga kongresista o senador aron mopalabang og balaod alang sa ilang mga tinguha. Mahimo sab sila nga modangop sa social media aron awhagon ang katawhan sa pagsuporta nila.”
(I am assessing the situation, but I am asking Piston Cebu not to join the activity. If you have concerns, take legal remedies like filing petitions or complaints in court or ask help from lawmakers. They can also express their sentiments through social media and ask for public support.)