Transport strike has little impact

Commuters still enjoyed available public transport despite the transport strike call of Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (MANIBELA) on Monday, as only a handful of their members joined the transport stoppage.

While a caravan was set up by MANIBELA to start at University Avenue at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, public transport (buses and jeepneys) not belonging to the group still ply their routes. This was aside from the government's "free-ride" augmentation.

MANIBELA members, about 50 of them at around 10:00 a.m. continued the caravan and headed to East Avenue, where they vowed to stage a protest in front of the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board office over the deadline for the consolidation of traditional jeepneys as part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.

Jeepney drivers and operators are required to join or form cooperatives under the PUV modernization program, which aims to replace traditional jeepneys with vehicles powered by more environment-friendly fuels until 31 December 2023.

The group said they planned to proceed to the office of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Department of Transportation (DOTr), and then finally Malacañang.

Mar Valbuena, MANIBELA president, however, still claimed Monday's strike was their biggest as their group has 40,000 membership in the National Capital Region (NCR) alone.

Valbuena added that they are not opposing the modernization program but only its implementation, noting that it opens door to corruption.

"We are not opposed to the modernization program. We did not say that we are opposed to it. What we are opposing is its implementation because the implementation is only for corruption," he said.

No less than Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos downplayed Valbuena's claim and that the strike did not paralyze Metro Manila's transport.

This was after Abalos met seven transport groups, known as the "Magnificent 7" on Sunday, who assured him they will not join the strike.

Aside from this, Metro Manila mayor's also provided the public with "free transport ride" amid the so called 'tigil pasada' of MANIBELA.