Unity walk won t hurt transport

MANILA, Philippines — At least 2,000 members of a conglomeration of transport cooperatives in Cebu will hold a  unity walk  today to call on President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to junk a Senate resolution seeking to temporarily call off the implementation of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).

The group, however, agreed to do it during non-peak hours to spare the public from added hassle.

 Ready na ming tanan para sa Unity Walk,  said Ellen Maghanoy, president of the 22-member Federation of Cebu Transport Cooperative and Allied Transport Cooperatives, which operates 1,400 units of modernized public utility jeepneys in Cebu.

The protest action is seen to affect transportation in Metro Cebu, which is why the Cebu City Transportation Office and the Cebu City Traffic Management Coordination Board has already set everything in place to respond to the needs of the riding public.

Atty. Kent Jongoy, CCTO assistant head, said they have already met with the different transport groups/cooperatives ahead of the protest action.

He said they have agreed that the cooperative members could stage the unity walk as long as there is no transport strike in the city.

The unity walk will begin at 9 a.m. or after the peak hours. It would be done starting at the Fuente Osmen~a Rotunda as rendezvous area then the participants would proceed to General Maxilom Ave., occupying only the rightmost lane (when facing north) as they proceed to the LTFRB-7 office.

 Nisugot ra gyud sila They were very kind enough to give us the favor nga dili lang sa peak hours, especially with the start of classes in most private schools Kami pay gipangutana asa sila agi,  Jongoy said.

Jongoy said, these transport groups and cooperatives that are supporting the PTMP have also been very cooperative to the City Government in the past so it is just fair for them to get the city s support on their cause today.

He said that for the longest time, City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco, chairman of the City Council committee on transportation, have expressed support for the PTMP, which the Senate resolution wanted to temporarily suspend as it looks into the arguments of those who opposed it.

Maghanoy s group, though, warned that if what the Senate wants would push through, they would surrender to the banks the modernized jeepney units they bought through loans.

 We really want to modernize the transportation diri sa City kay somehow it will be in response to the road infrastructure projects . Aside from that, we are moving forward from the age-old jeepneys nato,  Jongoy said.

The Senate last week passed a resolution recommending the temporary suspen