City to field buses for planned strike

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City government has already prepared its 30 Kaohsiung and Yokohama buses and other vehicles for use if the transport sectors push through with their strike today to protest the series of oil price increases.

City Traffic Operations Management Chairman Sylvan “Jack” Jakosalem received a report that the drivers affiliated with the Nagkahiusang mga Drayber sa Sugbo (Nadsu) will stage a transport strike today.

Members of the City Integrated Transport Services Cooperative (Citrasco) will not join the strike.

Jakosalem said he talked with Citrasco Chairman Ryan Benjamin Yu yesterday and Yu assured him their group will not join if there will be a transport strike.

Jakosalem learned that the Nadsu drivers will join the planned strike to protest the implementation of Cebu City Ordinance 1837, the ordinance prohibiting passenger jeepneys from outside the Cebu City to ply within the city streets.

“Well if they or any other groups are joining the strike they have to be as one on having the same grievance so as not to confuse the public. Kami we will field 30 buses, then as we always do we coordinate with other route leaders to field their PUJs to supplement the strike routes,” Jakosalem said.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon said he has already prepared measures in case the reported transport strike will push through.

Under the law public transport operators will be answerable to the LTFRB if they stop serving the public without valid reasons even if they are protesting the continued increase of the fuel prices.

But Cuizon assured that before they will impose any sanctions against the erring public transport operators they will be given due process during the investigation.

Shell yesterday imple-mented a 40 centavo per liter increase for diesel, and 70 centavos per liter for gasoline.

As of March 22, the diesel prices in Manila stood at P45.25 to P46.70 per liter while prices of gasoline were at P51.65 to P57.36 per liter. The prices in Cebu are much higher.

As one way to cope the possible losses of the transport sectors because of the series of fuel price increases, the government is studying to give a nationwide assistance program worth about P500 million to provide the transport sector relief from high oil prices.

The report said that the draft executive order outlining the program will be signed soon.  – Rene U. Borromeo/BRP (THE FREEMAN)