Piston gears for another transport strike

MANILA, Philippines — The transport groups Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) and Manibela are planning another transport strike 11 days before the threat of a crackdown on unconsolidated public utility jeepneys (PUJs).

Mody Floranda, Piston president, noted in an interview with The STAR over the weekend that a lot of possibilities can still happen between now and Jan. 31, the deadline to consolidate the vehicles under the public utility vehicle modernization program or PUVMP.

“On Jan. 24, the House committee on transportation will again conduct another investigation and we will attend it and, of course, we are still awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court,” Floranda said.

Piston asked the high tribunal last Dec. 21 to stop the implementation and ultimately void the government orders related to the PUVMP.

In its petition for certiorari and injunction, the group questioned the legality of the Dec. 31 deadline set for the PUVMP and asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent its implementation until their case is resolved.

It also asked the court to declare the order formalizing the modernization plan and circulars for the consolidation as null and void.

“We are hoping that the High Tribunal will acknowledge the importance of the public (transport) sector,” Floranda said, noting that a crackdown on unconsolidated PUJs would affect the riding public as well as the drivers and operators.

“It is not only the drivers and operators who will be affected but also the commuters. Based on the data released by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), at least 313 routes in Metro Manila did not consolidate, meaning you will remove the services of public transport to the commuting public,” he pointed out.

LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz earlier said law enforcers would apprehend the unconsolidated jeepneys because these would already be considered as engaging in colorum operations after the deadline.

“No less than (members of) Congress said that the LTFRB has no legal right to remove the franchises of our public transport as it is based on the provision of Republic Act 4136 compared to the provisional