Transport strike no effect on access to Cebu City PUVs — traffic czar

Some members of Piston-Cebu hold a protest rally along Gorordo Avenue in Cebu City today, November 22,  as part of a transport strike against the PUV Modernization Program. | CDN Photo / Pia Piquero

CEBU CITY, Philippines – The transport strike on Wednesday did not affect the traffic flow and accessibility of transportation vehicles in Cebu City. That is according to the Traffic Management Committee (TMC) head.

Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon, the TMC head, said that the one-day work stoppage by several Public Utility Jeepney (PUJ) drivers and operators had no discernible impact on passenger mobility since a sufficient number of modernized jeepneys continued to operate.

READ: Transport strike: Cebu City govt to deploy green buses to ferry passengers

Transport strike assessment

“Wala ta naapektuhan. [Ang] pasabot ana, ready ang siyudad in terms of public utility vehicles nga nagbyahe-an kay daghan man sad nga modernized jeepneys ang nagpadayon sa pag byahe,” Gealon said in an interview on Wednesday, November 22.

(We were not affected. This means that the city is ready in terms of public utility vehicles who ply routes in here because there were many modernized jeepneys who continued to ply their routes.)

The one-day transport strike was organized by Piston-Cebu.

READ: Transport group Manibela to hold own 3-day strike from Nov 22 to 24

Checked on commuters

Gealon said that they also monitored the situation of commuters and found no inconvenience reported during the transport strike.

“Atong gituyok kaganiha lukop sa syudad. Walay nahabilin sa dalan nga matawag nato nga wala kasulod sa eskwelahan or trabahoan [tungod wala kasakay],” he said.

(We checked on the different areas in the city. There was no one in the streets that we could say were not able to go to school or work [because he or she failed to get a ride].)

READ: LTFRB again plays down transport strike

Cebu City’s preparations pay off

Moreover, Gealon mentioned that in situations requiring additional transport support, the government was able to deploy green buses, particularly during peak hours when the majority of people were commuting back home.

“Atong i-asses ang situation labi na ang mga traffic enforcers moreport sila dinhi [og] standby buses kung kinahanglan,” he said.

(We will assess the situation, especially since the traffic enforcers, they will report here [if] the standby buses will be needed.)

Over a hundred drivers and operators in Cebu participated in the nationwide protest against the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.

READ: Cebu transport coops: We won’t join 3-day strike

One-day strike

The Cebu Chapter of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston), however, only organized a one-day transport strike instead of three, as agreed by their national organization in deference to the fiesta celebration of the Nuestra Señora Virgen dela Regla.

The local Piston group rallied against the December 31 deadline for the application of the consolidation franchise and PUV phaseout.

READ: DOTr reiterates willingness to meet transport groups on modernization plan

/dbs