Transport groups set protest action at SC

MANILA, Philippines - Members of transport group Piston will stage a protest action on Tuesday at the Supreme Court to pressure the magistrates to stop the implementation of the Department of Transportation and Communication order, raising the fine for colorum public utility vehicles.

Piston national president George San Mateo said protesters will call on the justices of the high tribunal to issue a temporary restraining order against the Joint Administrative Order of the DOTC. The group filed a petition for the TRO last June 10.

The JAO, which took effect last June 19 and implemented by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and the Land Transportation Office, imposes a fine of up to P1 million to operators of colorum public utility buses.

San Mateo said that the JAO is just a money-making scheme of the government, imposing excessive fines for traffic violations without holding a public consultation.

He said that aside from the Stop and Go Coalition, the protest action will be supported by members of Drivers Unite for Mass Progress, Equality and Reality (DUMPER) Philippine Taxi Drivers Association, Kabisig Bus Transport Workers , Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP), and Common Transport Service Cooperative.

The protesters are expected to gather in front of the High Court along Padre Faura around 10 a.m.

San Mateo said that the transport caravan is also a build up protest leading to the mass action for the upcoming 5th State of the Nation Address of President Aquino on July 28.