[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’JEEPNEY STRIKE ON JUNE 5 & 6 | Protest timed with school opening’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY RESEL JOY TIANERO
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Thursday, May 18, 2017
[/av_textblock]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
IL OILO City – The transport strike against the phaseout of jeepneys 15 years old and older will be timed with the resumption of classes on June 5 and 6.
Transport groups in this city and Iloilo province agreed on the dates of the strike during a meeting yesterday in La Paz district, said Edgar Salarda, chairperson of the Pinag-Isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (Piston) Panay chapter.
Taxis may also be joining the transport strike even if they are not affected by the planned jeepney phaseout, said Salarda.
In the days leading to the two-day protest, Salarda said, they will be persuading more transport groups such as those of buses and vans to join.
This early, Salarda said they were already asking the public’s understanding for the inconvenience that the strike will bring.
Lots of jeepney drivers and their families will be economically displaced if the phaseout will push through, he explained.
Early this week, Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, said jeepney drivers and operators wanted to make their protest massive and crippling.
In this city, the local government unit has started preparing for the transport strike. According to City Administrator Hernando Galvez, city government vehicles will be mobilized to transport stranded passengers.
“Tanan naton nga salakyan sa City Engineer’s Office, General Services Office and Disaster Risk Disaster and Management Office will be deployed,” said Galvez.
Even the vehicles of the Iloilo City Emergency Responders and fire trucks will be utilized, he added.
During a recent visit here, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chief Martin Delgra said the Board planned to kick-start the transport modernization program by June 1. The program included phasing out jeepneys 15 years old and older.
Under this scheme, jeepney operators will reportedly be forced to buy brand new units only from manufacturers accredited by the Land Transportation Office.
If Salarda’s group were to be believed, jeepney drivers and operators will also be required to use an “automatic fare collection system” and expensive Global Positioning System.
“Over half of passenger jeepneys will disappear from the roads if this plan pushes through,” warned Salarda.
This would be the second strike of jeepney drivers and operators in three months. They joined a nationwide strike just this Feb. 27 against the jeepney phaseout. The Iloilo City government was forced to suspend classes.
The jeepney started as remodeled army vehicles left behind by US forces after World War II, and became a showcase of Filipino ingenuity and resourcefulness. Mainly patronized by low- to middle-income passengers, it has become the core of Philippine public transport.
According to Parcon of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, also joining the two-day transport strike are the Confederation of Iloilo Jeepney Owners and Drivers Association, Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Association, tricycle drivers’ and operators’ associations, transport groups in Bacolod City (Negros Occidental), Roxas City (Capiz, Kalibo (Aklan), and Antique./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
