Different transportation groups are planning to stage the strike starting Monday, March 6, 2023, until Sunday, March 12, to protest against the government’s Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.
In an interview on Friday, March 3, LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said they will coordinate with different local government units (LGU) to use their buses to ferry stranded passengers.
Montealto said tourist bus operators are also willing to use their units to transport passengers if there is a shortage of buses in the LGUs.
He said that aside from the LGUs, they also coordinated with the Land Transportation Office to arrange their contingency plans in case the flow of PUVs is disrupted.
He said the strike is not likely to affect public transportation because only a small number of drivers and operators oppose the government’s PUV Modernization Program, which was initiated by former President Rodrigo Duterte.
The transport strike will be conducted by the drivers and operators of traditional jeepneys in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Bicol, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu to protest Memorandum Circular 2023-013 issued by the LTFRB, ordering the mandatory consolidation of jeepney franchises by June 30, in accordance with the government’s transport modernization program. (PAC / TPT)