Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 13) — Transport group Manibela is bent on holding a nationwide jeepney strike, which is set to begin on Oct. 16.
The group has been calling for the suspension of the Dec. 31 deadline for the mandatory jeepney franchise consolidation, a component of the government’s Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.
“Ang tigil pasada dere-derecho po ito kung hanggang saan abutin ang aming sikmura ng gutom,” Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena said during a briefing on Friday.
[Translation: This jeepney strike will continue for as long as our hungry stomachs can bear.]Valbuena said around a thousand PUVs are expected to gather in Mendiola, Manila to protest the modernization plan.However, other transport groups including Magnificent 7, Mighty 1, ALTODAP, UV Express Alliance of the Philippines, Pasang Masda, FEJODAP, ACTO, and Busina said they will skip the transport strike
“Hindi po kami makikiisa, kami po’y magsiserbisyo at magbibigay ng serbisyo sa ating mananakay nationwide,” Magnificent 7 chief Ka Obet Martin said in a joint presser.
[Translation: We will not join, we will serve and provide service to our riders nationwide.]
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 program. It was suspended due to the threat of heavy rains.
