The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority downplayed the start of the transport strike on Monday, saying it failed to paralyze public transportation in the National Capital Region.

MMDA chairperson Romando Artes said the government's Task Force Tigil Pasada had sufficient resources to assist commuters affected by the strike that is scheduled to end on Wednesday.

"I can confidently say that public transportation was not paralyzed this [Monday] morning. We will continue to monitor, and as I've said, we are ready this afternoon, tomorrow morning, and until the three-day strike period is over," said Artes in a press conference.

Artes said the task force has readied a total of 686 vehicles to respond to stranded passengers, but not all of these will be "indiscriminately dispatched" in consideration of the public utility drivers who did not join the strike.

Only 66 of the 686 vehicles were deployed yesterday, mostly in strike-concentrated routes, he added. "We are ready for the three-day strike and we will respond depending on the situation."

The Armed Forces of the Philippines deployed its assets and personnel to help stranded passengers, AFP Public Affairs chief Col. Xerxes Trinidad told Daily Tribune.

The AFP said it utilized two buses, a five-ton military truck, two KM 250 trucks, and two KM 450 units.

The Philippine National Police, on the other hand, said it deployed 920 mobile assets to assist stranded commuters.

Spearheaded by the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide, or Piston, the strikers are protesting the approaching 31 December deadline for them to join the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.

Five-year grace period

Earlier in the day, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said it was amenable to giving the protesters a five-year grace period to join the PUVMP.

Under the program, the consolidation policy is a prerequisite to public utility vehicle registration next year.

LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz III said the concerns of Piston about the program such as consolidation, franchise validity term, and complying with requirements have been discussed within the transport sector.

"Right now, all we can give them is a one-year provisional authority (past the deadline) to operate.

"They have a one-year provisional authority but the moment they join the modernization program we can give them the five years they are asking for," Guadiz said in Filipino.

 During the Monday strike, the MMDA suspended the enforcement of the number coding scheme.

Piston's opposition

Piston also aired its opposition to other recently proposed amendments to the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines under the PUVMP.

"We will let them use their freedom of expression, however, they will be penalized if they resort to violent means such as throwing stones and laying down spikes to force others to join their protest," Guadiz said.

He said that about 70 percent of PUVs have complied with the consolidation policy under the program and they are expecting to reach 85 to 90 percent by the end of December.

He said the LTFRB has already simplified the process of organizing a transport cooperative, noting that it is a "preliminary step toward modernization."

Guadiz also clarified that operators may choose not to buy new units as long as their jeepneys are working and until such time that the Land Transportation Office tells them that their vehicles no longer meet the standard," he said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Sara Duterte lauded the MMDA for its handling of yesterday's transport strike. The VP observed the agency's monitoring of the strike at the MMDA Communications and Command Center.

"We are ready to support the MMDA in its transport strike response. We are also appealing to the group staging the protest to have a dialogue with the government and bring their concerns to the negotiation table," Duterte said.

With Jing Villamente, Glen Jacob Jose and Neil Alcober