POLICE: SITUATION NORMAL: PUJ strike fails to cripple Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — Department of Transportation (DOTr) Sec. Jaime J. Bautista yesterday stressed that franchise consolidation for existing public utility vehicle (PUV) operators and drivers is “non-negotiable.”

This, as authorities reported that the strike that transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston)-Cebu staged yesterday failed to cripple public transport.

Police Lt. Col. Janette Rafter, Cebu City Police Office deputy city director for operations, said they monitored the protest action yesterday and found a "normal" situation during the public's daily commute.

“Nakita nato nga normal ang pagpanerbisyo sa atong kaigsuonan sa transportation sector," she said.

She thanked Piston-Cebu officials and members for never forcing their fellow drivers to join the transport strike.

“Peaceful ra gyud ang pagpahigayon sa ilahang pagwelga,” she said.

“Negligible hinoon ang epekto sa transport strike nga gilusad sa Piston-Cebu kay bisan naay mga jeepney drivers wala nag-drive pero ang ilang mga units, gipulihan ra man sad og laing drivers,” also said Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-7 Eduardo Montealto, Jr.

For Bautista, Piston's demand for the scrapping of the franchise consolidation, whose deadline is on Dec. 31, 2023, is not up open for discussion.

“One very important issue that is non-negotiable is industry consolidation, because we really need the players to consolidate into cooperatives or corporations,” Bautista said on the sidelines of the Stratbase ADR Institute Pilipinas Conference.

Consolidation of jeepney operators and drivers into cooperatives or corporations is an essential component of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

“Sabi ko nga hindi namin pwedeng pagbigyan yung ayaw nilang mag-consolidate. Sa tingin namin, this is an important component of PUVMP,” Bautista said.

On the demand of striking transport group Piston to extend the validity of PUV franchises to five years, he said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has already set the guidelines on franchise extension.

“Yung ibang demand nila—for example yung five-year franchise—pag bago naman talaga yung mga sasakyan pwede nating bigyan ng franchise yan,” Bautista said.

He explained that PUV drivers and operators must only show valid documents of the franchise’s transfer for them to avail of the subsidy, following its inclusion among Piston's demands.

“Sabi nga namin, kung maipapakita yung documents ay tama, kahit di pa nata-transfer yung franchise, ibibigay namin sa kanila yung fuel subsidy,” he said.

Bautista assured that his and LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III’s offices are open for dialogue.

“Napakaraming grupo na sumusuporta sa ating programa. Ready kami makipag-usap anytime sa kanila. Ang aking opisina ay handang makipag-usap kung kanino man at handa tayong makipag dayalogo,” he said.Bautista ended.

Also, the Office of Transportation Cooperatives chairman Jesus Ferdinand Ortega said that several transport groups already expressed support for the PUVMP.

These transport groups, Ortega said, have expressed that DOTr sticks with its deadline for franchise consolidation on Dec. 31, 2023, to be fair to everyone who has already done their part.

LTFRB data shows that there are now more than 5,000 routes in the country that have 135,761 consolidated franchises approved and under the operation of 1,838 cooperatives.

Yesterday, members of Piston-Cebu and the "No To PUV Phaseout Coalition of Cebu" launched their transport strike at 5 a.m.

At 6 a.m., Piston-Cebu-led drivers, operators, and supporters from the ranks of workers, students, community informal dwellers, and other sectors, simultaneously set up their respective rally centers.

The rally centers were in front of Land Bank of the Philippines at the corner of P. del Rosario St. and Osmena Blvd.; in front of Andok's at the corner of M.C. Briones and Pope John Paul II Aves.; in front of Golden Peak Hotel at the corner of Gorordo Ave. Escario St.; and in front of Pacific Mall in Mandaue City.

The protesters then went to the LTFRB-7 regional office at the North Reclamation Area and reiterated their demands, particularly the scrapping of the franchise consolidation scheme and that of the PUVMP.

Among others, Piston's demands in holding the transport strike include the restoration of the five-year franchise; the continued use of the traditional jeepney; the return of the scrapped jeepney routes and suspension of rerouting schemes made via the Local Public Transport Route Plan.; the continued operation of jeepneys along the Bus Rapid Transit routes.

Immediate aid to the drivers and operators; respect for the civil and democratic rights of the drivers and operators; and suspension of the Joint Administrative Order 2014-01, which imposes high fines and penalties, including the impounding of vehicles with the slightest standards on accessories.

At the Cebu City Hall, City Councilor Rey Gealon, Cebu City Traffic Management Committee chairman, said only 20 percent of public transportation in the city was affected but no passengers got stranded, despite the transport strike.

"Ang mga sakyanan nga anaa sa kadalanan paigo lang nga ang mga pasahero walay mga na-stranded," he said, adding that modernized jeepneys were still plying the streets and the City Government also deployed its green buses.

PISTON-Cebu president Greg Perez, though, said their transport strike was a success, saying that with a "membership base of close to 10 percent of the total number of drivers and operators, we have been able to elicit a 60 percent paralysis of the routes operating in the tri-city (Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu) of Cebu."

“Those who responded to our call represents the transport sector who are utterly disappointed with the government's PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP),” he said, in a statement.

He also alleged that Guadiz keeps on insisting that there is no such thing as a phaseout, that traditional jeepneys would still be used, but what is happening is on the contrary.

“Guadiz said that we have to comply with the December 31, 2023 deadline for franchise consolidation, with the implicit consequence that those who fail to apply will lose the chance to renew their individual franchises. Isn't that phaseout?" Perez said.

He vowed that Piston-Cebu would intensify the fight against the "fake and pro-big business modernization program". — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon, Iris Hazel Mascardo/RHM (FREEMAN)