Suspension of classes also made drivers decide not to go to work

As of 8:30 a.m., more passengers wait for passenger jeepneys along the road in Barangay Bulacao, Cebu City as transport groups hold nationwide transport strike. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

CEBU CITY—Not all drivers who opted not to ply their routes on Monday were protesting against the government’s plan to phase out units that were more than 14 years old.

The scarcity of passengers in some parts of Cebu City after some schools suspended their classes prompted the drivers not to go to work, said Rudy Laconza of the Alliance of Transport Organization Member Intra Cebu City (Atomic).

“How can the drivers go to work when there are no classes,” Laconza said in an interview over radio station dyAB.

While the Cebu City government didn’t suspend classes in the city, several private schools decided not to hold classes due to the strike.

These school included the University of San Jose Recoletos on Magallanes Street, the University of San Carlos elementary and high departments and Colegio del Sto Nino.

Laconza said in his radio interview that students consisted the bulk of Public Utility Jeepney (PUJ) passengers while about 20 to 30 percent were workers.

Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor for police matters, said several drivers complained on the city’s deployment of buses because these competed with the few PUJs on the streets.

“Some drivers had asked that the buses would not be deployed since these would eat up their earnings,” he said.

Tumulak said he was monitoring the progress of the transport strike to assess if there was a need to deploy more buses.
City Hall had sent out seven buses since 6 a.m. to ferry passengers.

The Pinag-isang Samahan nga mga Tsupert at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) members started to converge in several parts of Cebu City as early as 4 a.m.

They were outside Shopwise in Barangay Basak, Land Bank of the Philippines Osmeña Boulevard branch, Andoks in Barangay Mabolo and Fooda in Barangay Banilad.