MMDA suspends coding for Monday, deploys 25 vehicles to help during transport strike week
MANILA, Philippines — The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said Sunday that it is lifting the number coding scheme on Monday, the first day of the week-long transportation strike against the public utility vehicle modernization program.
In a statement, the MMDA said that it will provide 25 vehicles, including buses, to pick up passengers it sees will be “stranded” on the road due to the reduced number of public utility vehicles plying usual routes.
“The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is prepared to provide free rides to passengers that will possibly be stranded during the one-week transport strike that will start on Monday,” the statement read in Filipino.
MMDA Acting Chairman Don Artes said in an earlier statement that the "libreng sakay" vehicles to be deployed by MMDA can accommodate 1,200 passengers per trip.
Metro Manila police said on Friday that it will order five police districts to provide free rides for passengers starting Monday, 1 a.m.
In a statement, Metro Manila police chief Maj. Gen. Edgar Alan Okubo said that 10 vehicles — mostly trucks and buses — will be used to ferry affected commuters all over the metropolis, with the possibility of adding patrol vehicles.
Jeepney drivers and operators will stage a week-long transport strike beginning Monday to protest the jeepney modernization program, which transport groups say would force drivers to shoulder the hefty cost of consolidating jeepney franchises, as well as hike minimum jeepney fares. -- Cristina Chi
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