CEBU PUJs TO STRIKE: Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Talisay cities to field emergency buses today

Drivers on strike shout their slogan protesting to the higher violation fees imposed by DOTC along Natalio Bacalso Ave. (CDN FILE PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)

Cebu commuters, load up on patience as you step out of your houses today to go to school or work.

Jeepney drivers belonging to the militant group Piston will stay off the street in the morning and instead gather at Fuente Osmeña to protest anew against various “threats” to drivers in their third strike this year.

Issues range from the aggressive crackdown of Cebu City traffic enforcers on erring drivers to oil prices and a national policy that increases fines and penalties on operators and drivers.

Piston Cebu coordinator Greg Perez said about 300 drivers and public utility vehicle operators will join the protest.

Drivers and operators of jeepneys in Talamban, Mandaue, Liloan, Lapu-Lapu, Guadalupe, Mabolo and Bulacao have committed to join our cause, Perez told Cebu Daily News.

Perez said the protest will end at noon so that drivers can ply their routes again in the afternoon.

CONTINGENCIES

Alerted ahead about the strike, officials in Cebu province and the city governments of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay had buses and service vehicles standing by to ferry stranded passengers. (See separate story.)

As an emergency measure, provincial buses will be allowed to enter Cebu City to fill the vacuum and charge a minimum fare of P10.

The approval was given in an executive order issued by Ahmed Cuizon, outgoing regional director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

“PUJs may also be allowed to ply outside of their regular routes in order to augment transport services in areas that may be heavily affected by the possible shortage of rides using the regular minimum jeepney fare,” he said in a text message.

Piston complained that at least 50 drivers a day were being issued traffic citation tickets in Cebu City.
Drivers are feeling the heat after a trial court recently meted jeepney driver Jesus Sindo Cabanon with six months imprisonment for violating a no-entry traffic sign in 2012.

“Grabe gyod na ang dakop sa mga Citom. Ang amo lang untang hangyo kay ilaha ning tan-awn nga ordinansa if nakaayo gyud ba ni sa kadaghanan, (Citom’s crackdown is too much. What we are asking from them is for City Hall to take a second look at the ordinance if it really benefits the majority),” said Perez.

LTFRB officials in Manila said they were unaware of of any nationwide protest action set today.

Arnel del Rio, chief of the LTFRB public assistance and complaints desk, rushed to the office of their chairman, Winston Ginez, to inform him of the situation in Cebu after CDN called to verify if the protest is indeed national in scope.

George San Mateo, national president of Piston or the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide, said he was not aware of a a transport strike planned in Cebu.

“We have a scheduled mass action tomorrow in Cebu and in the regions but I’m not sure if they’re holding a transport strike as a form of their protest,” he said in Filipino.

THREE DEMANDS

Piston Cebu’s Perez cited three demands of the transport sector – the DOTC joint administrative order which imposes hefty fines on road rule violations, oil prices, and Cebu City’s aggressive implementation of an ordinance that imposes heavy fines for local traffic code violations.

After rallying at Fuente Osmena rotunda, Piston members will march to the regional office of the Department of Energy in Escario St. to seek a dialogue with DOE-7 Regional Director Antonio Labios.

Piston is seeking removal of the 12 percent value-added tax on diesel and petroleum products and the repeal of Republic Act 8479 or the Oil Deregulation Law which they claim was being used by oil companies to overprice their products.

Then they will march to offices of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to protest Joint Administrative Order 2014-01 and the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).

Piston is blaming City Ordinance 2207-2009, which mandates Citom to strictly implement the city’s Traffic Code, for the crackdown on jeepney drivers.

JAO consultation

This will be the third transport stirke launched in Cebu this year against JAO 2014-01, which was jointly issued by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), LTO and the LTFRB last summer and took effect in June.

The order increases fines and penalties for various transportation violations, including a P1 million fine for operators of colorum buses, jeepneys and taxis.

In July, a transport strike was partially launched in Cebu that lasted till noon. Public hearings on the JAO started in Cebu on Aug. 19 and continues in other areas. LTFRB-7’s Cuizon appealed for patience.

“They have to wait for the outcome of the consultation and see if we will revise or modify the JAO. It’s an ongoing process. Dili lang Cebu ang paminawon. The LTFRB chairman himself came here and that is already an indication of the sincerity of government in addressing the issue,” he said.

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Cebu City Hall ready for transport rally

Transport groups to monitor drivers; Piston to hold rallies