Transport strike strands thousands in Metro, key cities

Tens of thousands of commuters in Metro Manila and major cities and towns across the country were stranded yesterday as jeepney drivers went on strike to demand a fare increase amid rising fuel prices.

After rejecting earlier demands for a fare increase, the strike forced the government yesterday to agree to a hike next month, prompting transport unions to end the strike today.

Some areas in Metro Manila, usually bustling with noisy traffic snarls, were almost empty of public utility vehicles – including tricycles and buses.

Between 70 to 90 percent of public transportation in some major cities such as Antipolo, Bacolod, Dagupan, Davao, Iligan, Legazpi, Malolos, San Fernando and San Pablo were paralyzed.

But the situation in other areas of the country such as Bataan, Batangas, Nueva Vizcaya, Pampanga and Rizal provinces generally remained normal.

Director General Arturo Lomibao, chief of the Philippine National Police, said the strike was generally peaceful.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), other government agencies and local governments deployed buses and trucks to help stranded commuters.

But many commuters were still seen walking and jostling for limited seats on jeepneys that didn’t join the strike as well as taxis and buses.

Extra coaches were also pressed into service on Metro Manila’s LRT and MRT overhead railways.

Police officers were out on the streets to prevent strikers from harassing those who did not join the protest.

The strike was led by the left-wing Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston), one of the country’s largest public transport unions with a membership of 250,000 jeepney drivers and operators.

"We are demanding an immediate stoppage of further oil price increases and for government to repeal the oil deregulation law," said Piston spokesman George San Mateo.

Piston was also backed by other public transport unions nationwide such as the Philippine Concerned Drivers Association-Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (PCDA-ACTO) and the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), as well as leftist groups.

Fare hike imminent

Strikers are demanding a P2.50 increase in the basic fare, now at P5.50 for the first four kilometers, and in the fare for every succeeding kilometer.

They also want a repeal of the oil deregulation law that gives oil companies freedom to set fuel prices. The strikers also were protesting heavy fines imposed by traffic officers.

Government officials, led by Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza, met with transport union leaders yesterday to defuse the situation.

After meeting with union leaders yesterday, Mendoza directed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which oversees the public transport sector, to decide on transport unions’ pending petitions for a fare increase within 10 days.

LTFRB chief Elena Bautista said fares will be raised sometime in May but declined to say by how much.

PCDA-ACTO president Efren de Luna said the government agreed to raise the minimum fare by P2.50.

Bautista said her office will begin public hearings on FEJODAP’s fare hike petition on April 21. After a decision, the new fare will take effect following a 15-day period to notify the public.

"The jeepney operators cannot increase the rates if there is no fare matrix and if they have not paid the filing fee," Mendoza told a press briefing after the meeting. "Government should be operator-friendly, without prejudice to the implementation of laws, rules and regulations. At the same time, the transport sector has promised also that they would be public sector-friendly. They would improve the delivery of service, in terms of safety and comfort."

A summit between the government and the transport sector will be held this week to discuss the continuing rise of world crude oil prices and its impact on the country, Mendoza added.

Strike organizers apologized to the public for the inconvenience, but said they were forced to take action because high world oil prices "have put us all in dire straits," said strike leader Armando Naul.

"We apologize. We seek your understanding. This is for your own good, too," said FEJODAP president Zenaida Maranan.

Piston president Mar Garvida said they will end their protest if the government agrees to scrap the oil deregulation law.

In the past, oil companies had to seek prior government approval before they could raise pump prices.

The landmark 1998 law also scrapped government subsidies for petroleum purchases — which bled government coffers — to keep pump prices from fluctuating due to seesawing world crude oil prices.

"The government should have worked on a solution faster. Even during congressional hearings, our lawmakers were working on giving more teeth to the oil deregulation law instead of scrapping it," Garvida said.

Some provincial transport unions have threatened to strike for a week until their demands are met, he added.

Road trouble

In Metro Manila, the cities of Caloocan, Makati, Malabon, Pasay and Valenzuela and the town of Navotas, were hit hard by the strike, forcing commuters to take taxis, tricycles and even pedicabs to get to work. But traffic showed some semblance of normalcy later in the day.

Metro Manila police chief Avelino Razon warned strikers not to coerce colleagues to join the protest or throw metal spikes on the road. Such incidents have caused vehicular damage in the past.

One car along MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City suffered a flat caused by caltrops or metal spikes believed strewn by strikers.

Razon said the protest in Metro Manila was "generally peaceful."

Some groups of protesters, waving red banners and streamers, staged noisy rallies in some areas of Metro Manila but remained orderly.

Some strikers urged other drivers to join the strike. But others were seen having shouting matches with non-strikers. One taxi driver was punched for refusing to join the protest.

Four men belonging to an unidentified "militant group" were caught scattering spikes on the road in Caloocan City by police.

Meanwhile, three strikers, including a Piston leader, were arrested also in Caloocan after a fistfight with police officers in Monumento.

In the town of San Juan, police and traffic directors stopped some commuters from coming to blows with striking drivers who attempted to puncture tires of jeepneys that kept plying their routes.

Yesterday, the LTFRB threatened sanctions on strikers found violating franchise regulations.

Malacañang officials, meanwhile, assured the public transport unions yesterday that their concerns were being heard.

They also warned that strikers faced sanctions if they did not play by the rules. "They should always take into consideration the welfare of the riding public," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said initial reports indicated that throngs of office workers were stranded in the early morning rush hour.

It deployed about 100 of its vehicles to ferry stranded commuters as well as suspended its motor vehicle reduction scheme to ease the strike’s impact.

Public transport was paralyzed on close to 70 percent of some Manila Metro routes by noon, the DOTC said.

However, MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando estimated about 10 percent of public transportation in the entire metropolis was crippled by the strike.

"Commuters were able to get to where they had to go — with some inconvenience, yes — but the fact is they managed to get there," said MMDA general manager Robert Nacianceno.

In some main provincial cities, meanwhile, thousands of commuters were left stranded by the strike, forcing some businesses to send their employees home early.

Strikers attempted to block the North Luzon Expressway in Guiguinto, Bulacan, but were stopped by police, said Chief Superintendent Rowland Albano, Central Luzon police director.

In the Bicol region, the provinces of Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon were paralyzed. In Albay, the military readied army trucks in case jeepneys stopped plying the road between Daraga town and Legazpi City.

In the southern city of Iligan, Lanao del Norte, strikers blocked buses and other public utility vehicles, forcing commuters to walk several kilometers to the city center, police said.

"There was a total cessation of public utility vehicle operations in Iligan city and surrounding suburbs," said Inspector Rio Don, of the city police operations center.

In Calamba City, Laguna, police dispersed strikers who blocked roads and harassed drivers that did not join the strike. Officers also found some spikes strewn on some roads but made no arrests.

In Santiago City, Isabela, some drivers only staged a one-hour protest rally at the public market denouncing fuel prices. — Non Alquitran, Rene Alviar, Celso Amo, Ramil Bajo, Jerry Botial, Aurea Calica, Ding Cervantes, Sheila Crisostomo, Lino dela Cruz, Artemio Dumlao, Nestor Etolle, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Pete Laude, Arnell Ozaeta, Edu Punay, James Mananghaya, Michael Punongbayan, Cesar Ramirez, Edith Regalado, Ric Sapnu, Raffy Viray, AFP