Ryan Benjamin Yu, Cebu Integrated Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Citrasco) chairman, said they will not join the planned nationwide strike against modernization next week, as in fact, they are supportive of modernization.
“We will not be joining the strike because sa ilang rason (of modernization),” said Yu Wednesday, March 1, 2023. “We are not against it. We are only against the person sitting in LTFRB 7.”
Yu said they have problems complying with the prerequisites due to the person sitting in the office, referring to LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr.
“He makes the policies. He accepts the applications. He approves them. He causes the delays. He gives all the headaches,” Yu added in a mix of Cebuano and English.
Yu alleged that there were applications from traditional jeepney operators that Montealto put on hold. Yu said the director had been creating franchises that did not undergo the due process.
Yu also said the regional office had been tolerating colorum operations, citing some black taxis that are operating similar to V-Hires (vans for hire).
Yu added that Montealto has been giving favors to some operators, which he alleged to be the director’s close friends.
Yu accused Montealto of granting a franchise to Ceres Bus from Barangay Simala in Sibonga town to IT Park in Cebu City and back without following proper procedures, siding with Kats taxi when the company was inundated with complaints from the Metro Cebu Taxi operators for allegedly operating without a franchise, and for failing to establish a Local Public Transport Route Plan for inter-city routes.
The group did not specify when they will hold the transport strike.
There are 800 members under the Citrasco transport group.
Montealto did not answer the allegations but said the strike is a right of transport operators.
Another group, the Cebu South Mini-bus Operators Association (CSMBOA), however, said it will not join the strike that will be staged by Citrasco.
Former Barili town mayor Julieto Flores, president of CSMBOA that has a fleet of 100 mini-buses and modern public utility jeepneys, said they do not support the plan of Citrasco’s Yu to hold a strike to oust Montealto.
“If we have concerns, we use diplomacy and paper to resolve the issue. The strike is an old tactic,” he said. (KJF, PAC / TPT)