Rally on Monday

Just as classes open on Monday, a transport group will stage a protest rally, but they also assured that public transportation will not be crippled.

The Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) is protesting the impending phaseout of jeepneys which have been in service for 10 years and over.

Piston Cebu coordinator Greg Perez said they will march from Barangay Maguikay in Mandaue City to the regional office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City.

“This is just a protest rally, and this will not cripple our public transportation. We are not holding a strike, like in other regions,” said Perez.

Government officials in Cebu City and the police asked Piston not to create chaos or inconvenience the public.

Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera said Piston should avoid conducting strikes when they want to make a stand.

“My advice to Piston is to make their cause relayed to the riding public not through strikes, because time will come that they will become insignificant,” Garganera said.

He added that Piston should bring their concerns to the City Council which he said would be a better venue for their concerns.

“So that we will call the sectors and stakeholders involved and discuss the matter,” the councilor added.

Preparations

The city government has readied Kaohsiung and barangay buses for deployment tomorrow should there be stranded passengers, especially that it is the opening of classes in public schools.

Councilor David Tumulak said that the buses will be deployed in the routes that will be affected.

The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will also deploy additional troops for crowd control.

Chief Insp. Christopher Navida, CCPO City Intelligence Branch (CIB) chief, said policemen will monitor the rally, including the Mobile Patrol Group, to also help man traffic.

“Karapatan naman nila (Piston) yan. Pakikingan natin yung daing nila. Pero dapat hindi sila maka-harm o cause problems sa ibang tao, lalo na sa mga bata nga nagbalik eskwela ng araw na yan,” Navida said.

(It’s their right. We will hear them out. But they should not cause problems nor harm other people especially the kids who will return to their classes that day.)

LTFRB Regional DirectorAhmed Cuizon said they recognize and respect the right of Piston Cebu members.

“The government is listening to their sentiments and trying to balance things in the context of policy making,” Cuizon said.

He, however, urged Piston Cebu members to first think of public interest before doing anything drastic like a transport strike where everybody loses, the public and the drivers and operators themselves.

He encouraged them to go to court, raise these issues in Congress or make online petitions.

“There are many for more forms of effective protests in these modern times,” Cuizon added.

Protest

Around 100 members will participate in tomorrow’s rally which will be from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Perez said these 100 drivers were not forced to join because they are on rest day. There are about 500 to 700 Piston members.

Most of the participating drivers ply the routes in Barangays Ibabaw, Paknaan and Cabancalan in Mandaue City as well as Barangays Mabolo and Bulacao in Cebu City.

“I would like to encourage the public to understand us,” he said.

‘First day of classes’

Meanwhile, Dr. Bianito Dagatan, division superintendent of the Cebu City Division of the Department of Education (DepEd), said they do not expect all the students to come on time.

“There might be changes of classrooms and continuation of the enrollment,” Dagatan said.

The Cebu City Division is expecting 170,000 kindergarten to senior high school students on Monday.

But Dagatan said the figures could rise because enrollment is still going on in all 68 elementary schools and 54 secondary schools in Cebu City.

“Schools will also set up a help desk which will be accessible to parents and teachers,” he said.

DepEd Cebu City is also coordinating with the CCPO and barangay officials for terms security in the schools.

“For sure the school administrators will also have their own security measures to be implemented,” he added.