MANILA, PHILIPPINES (AP) – Philippine transport groups launched a nationwide strike yesterday to protest a government programme drivers fear would phase out traditional jeepneys, which have become a cultural icon, and other ageing public transport vehicles.
Officials, however, braced with contingencies and deployed government vehicles to take stranded passengers in some areas. Other groups refused to join the weeklong strike that could keep more than 40,000 passenger jeepneys and vans off the streets in the Manila metropolis alone.
Protesting drivers and supporters held a noisy rally in suburban Quezon city in the capital region, then proceeded in a convoy to a government transport regulatory office to press their protest.
“We’re calling on the public to support the transport strike in any way possible,” said Renato Reyes of the left-wing political alliance Bayan, which was backing the strike. “The inconvenience of the transport stoppage is temporary, but the loss of livelihood of drivers and operators would be long-term.”
At almost noon, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista said no major transport disruption had been monitored. Other officials said government vehicles were deployed to carry commuters in some areas but did not immediately provide more details. Morning rush-hour traffic was heavy as usual in major roads in Manila and nearby cities.
“There is no disruption except in a handful of routes in the national capital region,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s office said by noon, citing reports from law enforcers.
Bautista warned that protesting drivers who would resort to violence and coercion to stop passenger vehicles not joining the strike would face criminal charges.
Vice President Sara Duterte, who also serves as education secretary, drew criticisms after saying the strike is a communist rebel-inspired action that may inconvenience students.
The government transport modernisation programme, first launched in 2017, aims to replace dangerously dilapidated and old passenger jeepneys and vans with modern vehicles, which have safety features and conform with carbon emissions standards. Vehicle owners have to join transport cooperatives and corporations by year’s end for better transport management.
“It’s okay to have modernisation for those who have money,” jeepney driver Benito Garcia told The Associated Press. “But for us jeepney drivers and operators, we cannot afford.”
