'120k units went on strike': MANIBELA refutes LTFRB's estimate on tigil-pasada day 2
MANILA, Philippines — Transport group MANIBELA called out the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for spreading "fake news" regarding their recent transport strike.
The LTFRB through a statement last Tuesday claimed that "only two routes" were affected by the group's tigil-pasada, a protest launched by MANIBELA against alleged corruption and the December 31 deadline for consolidation of for traditional jeepneys.
"FAKE NEWS! Is that why [the LTFRB] went to our garages and terminals along with [the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority], [local government units] and chief of police to urge us to come back to our trips?" said the group in Filipino over Facebook.
"Over 600 routes were on strike yesterday while 120,000 units joined us on the second day," said MANIBELA chair Mar Valbuena in an interview with Philstar.com this Wednesday.
While nationwide in nature, Valbuena said that the transport strike was mostly concentrated in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and CALABARZON.
Under the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program, jeepney drivers and operators are required to join cooperatives or corporations by the end of the year, with the ultimate goal of replacing traditional jeeps with a more environment-friendly units.
Groups have earlier lamented calls to phaseout traditional jeeps and UV Express since modern minibuses cost as much as P2.8 million each.
Valbuena earlier said that the government are forcing them to immediately consolidate so that state officials could ask for bribes in exchange for routes, provisional authority and special permits to transport groups.
"We came back to our trips [after two days] because while the government offered free rides, many were still stranded. Almost all cities in NCR found it very hard to commute since there were only few transport groups plying their routes," Valbuena continued.
'Second day of strike insignificant'
The LTFRB on Tuesday said that the operations of PUVs and flow of passengers were not significantly impacted by sigthing of protesting drivers and operators.
According to the board, the two routes that whose trips were affected were significantly lower than the "nine" that participated last Monday.
"Nationwide monitoring results show that as of 2:00 PM, no occurrence of any transport strike/rally was monitored in the entire country," the LTFRB said on Tuesday.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier suspended LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III, allegedly due to irregularities in the agency, with at least P5 million being paid "in exchange for the approval of franchise or securing routes and special permits" in connection with the modernization program.
Department of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista yesterday filed cyber libel complaints against Valbuena and journalist Ira Panganiban after the two allegedly accused him of accepting bribes.
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