Transport strike ends

But drivers’ woes remain unresolved

MANILA, Philippines — Transport group Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide or Piston and other progressive organizations ended their two-day strike without any “concrete” resolution of their grievances.

Piston president Mody Floranda said around 60 major routes were paralyzed in Metro Manila during the strike.

Floranda slammed President Marcos for inaction on the fuel price hikes amid the crisis in the Middle East.

“President Marcos is not listening to the requests of the ordinary Filipino people and the proof alone is the retraction of the P1 fare increase, but the oil prices continue to spike,” Floranda told The STAR.

Patience

Malacañang yesterday appealed for patience and understanding from the public, as the Marcos government takes concrete steps to protect vulnerable sectors hit by skyrocketing fuel prices.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro made the appeal as various transport groups, including Manibela, Piston and Laban TNVS, were organizing nationwide transport strikes.
“We ask for understanding and trust in government decisions that balance helping passengers and the transportation sector,” Castro said.
On Tuesday, Marcos led the rollout of the P5,000 fuel subsidy for public transport drivers.
However, the President on Wednesday suspended the fare increase scheduled for Thursday, saying commuters – mostly workers and students – need not be burdened further, with the crisis in the Middle East still raging.
Marcos, however, assured transport operators and drivers of additional support from the government.

Not enough

Several agencies such as the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board explained that the P5,000 cash aid would help ease public transport drivers’ expenses.

However, Floranda explained this would not help them in this time of crisis.

“(The aid) will only come from the increase of oil prices, especially next week, that we will expect another round of hikes. There is no point in that,” he said.

“If they really want to help, they should repeal the taxes on oil,” Floranda added.

If oil prices reach P120 per liter, he explained it would take them P3,600 per day to travel and the P5,000 cash aid would not even last two days.

Floranda said they will be meeting with other transport federations from Transport Network Vehicle Services, tricycles, taxi, food delivery services, along with drivers and conductors of buses, among others. 
“In the next days, we will have larger protests against the continuous spike of fuel prices,” he said.

Nanoy Rafael of the PARA Commuters’ Network expressed his disappointment that the government only handed out “band-aid” solutions – such as free rides – amid the crisis.

“We protested for two days, but we did not get any response to the crisis that commuters face, they do not have any resolutions to the rising prices on oil,” Rafael said.

If oil prices continue to spike, he warned that the transport system will be disrupted, especially in provincial areas.

Floranda again appealed to the President to release an executive order removing the excise tax and value added tax, which would ease oil prices by up to P17 per liter.

The group also called on the national government to rein in the oil companies and roll back oil prices to P55.

Bus trips reduced

Four bus companies at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) have temporarily reduced trips to mitigate the impact of rising pump prices.

Only 19 buses from Alps, Ceres and Jam are traveling to Batangas City, down from the usual 23, while Baliwag Transit has cut trips to San Jose City, Nueva Ecija, from 12 to 10.

Kolyn Calbasa, PITX senior corporate affairs officer, told reporters on Thursday that some operators decided to operate on a “lean basis during regular days” to cope with higher fuel costs.

“We’re being reassured that if ever the supply goes down, operators will be providing extra trips or units,” Calbasa said.

Emergency fund

Sen. Risa Hontiveros has written to the Department of Budget and Management seeking clarification on how to use a P30-billion emergency assistance fund to help public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers deal with the oil price hikes.

In her March 19 letter to DBM Secretary Rolando Toledo, Hontiveros asked the agency to tap into the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s P30-billion fund under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations program to help the transport sector amid the suspended fare hike.

She suggested repurposing the funds to subsidize PUV drivers and transport cooperatives and operators. — EJ Macababbad, Helen Flores, Marc Jayson Cayabyab