PISTON protests jeepney phase-out

Public transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) rallied in front of the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) office Monday to protest the government’s plan to phase out decades-old jeepneys.

PISTON, in a radio report, reiterated its opposition to the modernization program, insisting that the drivers’ livelihood would be in serious jeopardy should the LTFRB and Department of Transportation (DoTr) push with the plan.

The rallyists assembled along East Avenue corner NIA Road in Quezon City and marched toward the LTFRB office.

The group stressed that because of the modernization, most of its members would become ‘tambays’ who are now being hunted by the authorities under the Philippine National Police’s intensified campaign to implement the cities and municipal ordinances.

PISTON president George San Mateo blasted the LTFRB’s circular memorandum 2018-008 or the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines, saying it is a shortcut to the modernization program that they are protesting.

San Mateo said the modernization plan, if it is fully implemented, would last for only a year and they would lose their jobs too.

The Quezon CIty Police Department (QCPD), Department of Public Order and Safety (DPOS) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) have already deployed personnel to control traffic.

Members of PISTON in the Bicol region also held a transport strike in support of the protest.

A draft of the DoTr’s order on the modernization program requires jeepney operators to replace old engines with Euro 4 compliant ones or purchase hybrid or electric jeeps. Euro 4 is a set of emission standards on particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons.

The PUV modernization program seeks to phase out old and dilapidated jeepneys and replace them with high-quality transport systems that are environment-friendly and have greater capacity.