Don’t inconvenience commuters, transport group told

WHILE jeepney drivers can stage their strike, they should not inconvenience the commuters, a top official of the regional Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said yesterday.

“I would like to appeal to Piston to make sure that the public will not suffer from their protest activities. We respect their right to protest. But at the end of the day, let us not disrupt the flow of public transport,” LTFRB Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon said.

About 150 members of the Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) Cebu will join militant groups in a protest caravan today in the cities of Mandaue, Cebu, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay.

After the caravan, the protesters will hold a picket in front of the LTFRB office.

While Piston said public transport won’t be hampered, the Cebu City and Mandaue City government are prepared with their contingency measures.
Vehicles from both cities will be on standby to ferry any stranded passengers today.

“I was able to talk with Greg Perez of Piston. He assured that they have called off the transport strike. They will just hold a caravan from Mandaue to Lapu-Lapu and from Talisay to the LTFRB office,” said Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) head Glenn Antigua.

In Cebu City, at least 15 Kaohsiung buses will also be on standby, said Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters.

Cuizon said the LTFRB will issue special permits to jeepney drivers to allow them to go outside their designated routes to transport stranded passengers, if there are any.

The Cebu Integrated Transport Service Cooperative (Citrasco) also assured that they won’t be joining Piston’s caravan and that their members will be plying their usual routes.

He said he is worried that Piston members may “harass” Citrasco members and force them to join the protest.

He said he hopes the police will be able to prevent this from happening today.

Piston is protesting the government’s plan to phase out passenger jeepneys that are over 10 years old, saying it is anti-poor and that fare rates may increase if this is implemented nationwide.

But LTFRB’s Cuizon explained that all operators and transport groups, including Piston-Cebu, were already given a chance to express their sentiments.

In Mandaue City, police and traffic officials downplayed concerns over today’s transport strike by the militant transport group Piston in Metro Cebu.

“It won’t paralyze public transportation. In fact, there will more drivers who will not join the strike,” PO2 Mark Polapo of the Mandaue City Police Office said.

Team officer Chad Rosellosa said based on previous Piston-organized transportation strikes, they expect it to be peaceful./With Correspondent