Metro cops ready for transport strike

The 15,000-strong Metro Manila police force is "prepared for the worst" when transport organizations and militant groups push through with their nationwide strike today in protest of the latest oil price increase and the controversial road user's tax.

"We already have our contingency measures in place. We have government buses at our disposal which can be deployed at short notice in affected areas to ferry stranded commuters," Chief Superintendent Edgar Aglipay, Metro Manila police director, said in a telephone interview.

Earlier, the moderate Confederation of Land Transport Associations of the Philippines (COLTAP) headed by Romy Maranan cancelled its March 20 strike after the government promised to reduce vehicle registration fees from the projected 400 percent increase to 100 percent, spread over four years.

However, the left-leaning Pinagkaisahang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operaytors Nationwide (Piston) and militant groups vowed to push through with today's strike.

Aglipay and other government officials met over the weekend with Piston president Medardo Roda and leaders of various groups to try and dissuade them from going on with the strike but failed.

The government side likewise failed to get assurances from rally organizers that today's mass action would be peaceful.

According to Aglipay, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) have assigned at their disposal a number of buses to be fielded in areas affected by the strike.

He said the buses run by COLTAP that will continue to ply their routes today will each be boarded by two uniformed policemen, armed with handguns, to prevent strikers from harassing drivers.

Buses coming from the provinces, especially from Rizal, Laguna and Bulacan, will in turn be secured by motorcycle-riding policemen, Aglipay said.

The mobile policemen will patrol strategic roads in Metro Manila to spot strikers who harass drivers continuing to ply their routes.

He said elements of the Crowd Disturbance Management Group (CDMG) will be fielded in the usual flashpoints, like Monumento in Caloocan City; Mendiola and Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, and Welcome Rotonda at the boundary of Quezon City and Manila.

Intelligence operatives, he said, will be deployed in all assembly points of the strikers for police to know beforehand their scheduled activities.

In his directive to the five police districts in Metro Manila, Aglipay also ordered the creation of a standby force, including Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) units, that will be prepared for deployment at a moment's notice.

Meanwhile, the Manila police will be fielding four buses to help ease the anticipated transport shortage today.

Western Police District (WPD) director Chief Superintendent Avelino Razon Jr. said the buses, which they will rent from private companies, would ply routes fanning out from the densely populated Quiapo district.

Razon said they are also expecting augmentation from the National Capital Region Office which has reportedly requested the Armed Forces of the Philippines to lend it some 60 six-by-six trucks.

Aside from these, Razon also instructed his men to keep watch on the Pandacan oil depot, the US Embassy, and Malacañang which he said may be targeted by mass actions or terrorist attacks. -- With Jose Aravilla