LGUs, agencies ready for today’s strike

CEBU, Philippines - Local government units have readied vehicles in anticipation of today’s transport rally, which will be staged by at least 300 members of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) – Cebu.

In Cebu City, 66 vehicles will be in major routes as early as 5:30 a.m. These include 40 mini buses from 16 barangays of the city, 22 Kaoshiung buses and four 6x6 units from the Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Councilor David Tumulak, chairperson of the City Risk Reduction Management Council, said the 22 Kaoshiung buses will ply 10 primary routes, including Bulacao-SM-Colon, Labangon-SM-Colon, Guadalupe-Plaza-Cathedral, Guadalupe-SM-Colon, Lahug-Colon, Talamban-Colon-City Hall, Panagdait-Colon, JY Lahug-Ayala-SM, Mabolo-Colon and Banawa-Colon.

Forty-four other vehicles will be traversing secondary or minor thoroughfares, but only for contingency purposes.

Educational institutions like the University of San Jose Recoletos, University of San Carlos and Cebu Institute of Technology-University will also deploy buses for their students.

“We always anticipate nga dako ang strike. Mas maayo nga prepared than underprepared ta,” Tumulak said.

 “Request lang sa mga commuters labi kadtong gikan sa layo nga mosayo og gawas sa ilang balay para dili ma-stranded sa kadalanan,” he added.

In Mandaue City, 10 vehicles on standby at the City Hall to ferry residents to and from SM City, Ayala Center, and Foodland area in Barangay Banilad. 

Traffic Enforcement Agency and Management (TEAM) Director Edwin Ermac said A.C. Cortes and Plaridel Streets in Barangay Alang-alang have been identified as pickup points for commuters heading to Lapu-Lapu City. The vehicles will also travel up to the SM mall in Consolacion town for those heading to the north. 

Ermac said the vehicles will operate from 6 a.m. until the strike will conclude.

For its part, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 will field buses with a flat rate of P10 per passenger starting at 6 a.m.

In Cebu City, the buses will travel to and from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the North, also from 6 a.m. onwards.

Buses from the Mactan Cebu International Airport will pass by the Mactan Economic Zone 1, the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, the Pacific Mall, the national highway in Mandaue City and will proceed to the North Bus Terminal, SM City down to the Fuente Osmeña circle in Cebu City.

LTFRB-7 chief Ahmed Cuizon said public utility jeepneys may be allowed to ply outside their regular routes to augment transport services in areas that may be affected heavily by the strike.

Not joining

Yesterday, majority of the jeepney route leaders in Cebu said their groups will not join today’s rally.

Romeo Armamento, national vice president of the National Confederation of Transportworker’s Union-Central Visayas, said the group will just wait for the final decision of the transport agencies that are reviewing the JAO. NCTU-Central Visayas in Cebu has over 22 routes with 2,000 drivers as members.

“Di mi moapil ana ilang transport picket rally,” said Armamento yesterday.

Ryan Benjamin Yu, general manager of CITRASCO, also shared Armamento’s sentiment. CITRASCO has over 1,000 units plying different routes in Cebu City.

Useless

 Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella said the protest is a “useless” exercise.

 “They should not let residents in a local government units suffer. Representations were already made by our congressman and legal processes were also constituted. We just have to wait,” he contended.

Meanwhile, “It will be business as usual at the Capitol tomorrow like before when the same group threatened to go on strike,” Governor Hilario Davide III said in a text message yesterday.

Davide said a strike is not an immediate solution to air concerns regarding the implementation of the joint order. Instead, it will just cause inconvenience to the riding public.

Provincial Adminis-trator Mark Tolentino also said normal transactions will be observed at the Capitol.

“In the past, wa man pud ta mi-suspend… Mao ra gyud na atong standard because we have to open man for general public because they have also their businesses to transact at the Capitol. We have our services to deliver so we cannot stop doing that because of the strike,” he said.

When drivers organized a strike in June this year, provincial government employees were allowed to go home as early as 3 p.m. Tolentino said Capitol-owned vehicles will be on standby to transport Capitol employees when necessary.

“Ug unsay available maoy ipagamit. If there is a need nga i-extend sa general public, we will do that,” he added.

Reasons

PISTON-Cebu head Greg Perez said they decided to hold the strike to oppose the controversial Joint Administrative Order (JAO) 2014-01 that carries “oppressive” fines and penalties for traffic violations.

 The drivers will assemble at the Fuente Osmeña circle at 9 a.m. and will march to the offices of the Department of Transportation  and  Communications, Land Transportation Office, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Department of Energy, and to the City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM).

Aside from reiterating their opposition to the JAO, Perez said the will also raise concerns with the Department of Energy over the P6 fuel subsidy for drivers and the 12 percent value added tax.

 “Ang JAO dili gyud makatawhanon ug makatarungan nga balaudnon nga ipahamtang ngadto sa mga yanong drayber mao ang mu-protesta na gyud mi ugma. Kinahanglan gyud na ibasura,” he said yesterday.

 He assured, however, that the protest will conclude by noon.

The controversial JAO reportedly aims to instill discipline especially among drivers of public utility vehicles and to prevent road accidents, ease the perennial traffic jams, clamp down on unregistered or “colorum” vehicles, among others.

It was implemented jointly by the Department of Transportation and Communication, LTO and LTFRB last July 19.

It contains the revised schedule of fines and penalties for violation of laws, rules and regulations governing land transportations.

LTO-7 Director Arnel Tancinco said earlier it will continue to implement the order until a decision on the review is reached. — /JMO  (FREEMAN)