MANILA, Philippines — Transport group PISTON on Monday announced that it will join the three-day nationwide transport strike to protest the implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program.
In a press conference, the group’s president, Mody Floranda, said that PISTON will join Manibela and other transport groups in holding the “welga sa ruta.”
“May iba’t-ibang uri ng protesta: Martsa-rally, caravan, welga sa mga routa. ‘Yan po ang ating tugon doon sa inannounce ni Bongbong Marcos na hindi na niyab bibigyan ng extension ang ating mga operator,” Floranda said.
(There are different types of protests: Marches, caravans, and strikes on routes. These are our responses to Bongbong Marcos’ announcement that he will no longer grant extension to our operators.)
The transport strike will be staged on August 14 until August 16.
The transport groups were prompted to hold a transport strike after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressed his support in the advancing of the PUV Modernization program despite the Senate’s call to halt its implementation.
Marcos claimed that the majority of the jeepney drivers have been consolidated.
On July 31, 22 senators signed Senate Resolution 1096, urging the government to temporarily halt the implementation of the PUV Modernization Program until all concerns of jeepney drivers and operators are fully addressed.
The resolution noted that around 36,217 jeepneys had been consolidated.
The senators said that the lack of consolidation among other units is largely due to the government’s insufficient efforts to inform the transport groups about the program, as well as the financial strain caused by the high cost of modern jeepneys.
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