Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 9) — Transport group Manibela plans to mount a transport strike starting Oct. 16 following corruption allegations within the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Manibela chairperson Mar Valbuena made the announcement during a news conference on Monday, as a former LTFRB official claimed a corrupt practice being done in the agency so-called \”ruta for sale\” scheme.
Jeffrey Tumbado, who was an executive assistant to LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III, is set to file a graft complaint against agency officials, with the transport group as co-complainant.
READ: Corruption charges to be filed vs. LTFRB officials
\”Dadalhin natin ang mga sasakyan natin sa harapan ng LTFRB main (office), sa harapan ng DOTr (Department of Transportation) hanggang Malacañang,\” Valbuena said. \”Doon na natin itatambak ang ating mga sasakyan kung ayaw nila tayong bigyan ng kabuhayan!\”
[Translation: We will bring our vehicles in front of the LTFRB main office, DOTr, and Malacañang. We will pile our vehicles there if they don’t want to provide us with a means of livelihood!]
On March 6, Manibela led a nationwide transport strike — the first under the Marcos administration — to pressure the LTFRB into suspending the mandatory jeepney franchise consolidation, a component of the government’s PUV Modernization Program.
The strike ended a day after, instead of its week-long plan, as the transport group met with Undersecretary Roy Cervantes of the Office of the Executive Secretary. Weeks after, the LTFRB announced the deadline extension of the consolidation until Dec. 31.
Manibela was supposed to stage a three-day transport strike in July, the first day coinciding with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address, to protest the modernization plan but was suspended due to the threat of heavy rains.
