Four transport organizations on Thursday pledged their support to the candidacy of vice presidential bet Senator Bongbong Marcos Jr., saying the son of the Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos has a good track record.
The groups—Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, Pasang Masda, Association of Concerned Transport Organizations and Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas—decided to unite and campaign for the young Marcos in the May 9 polls.
The four transport groups claim to have at least 500,000 members nationwide.
ACTO president Efren de Luna said this is the first time the Big 4 find themselves supporting a common candidate for vice president.
De Luna said they chose Senator Marcos because their members had picked him for the vice presidency. “We asked our members and they were unanimous in choosing Senator Bongbong because of his track record and his vision for the country including the transport sector,” he said.
Zeny Maranan of Fejodap, Roberto Martin of Pasang Masda and Lando Marquez of LTOP also expressed the same sentiment for the senator.
The groups came up with the decision to endorse the candidacy of Marcos during a meeting in Mandaluyong City, where a campaign headquarters of Marcos was inaugurated.
Marcos, for his part, thanked the transportation sector for their support saying their advocacies to alleviate the plight of public utility drivers have helped define the transport system in the country.
He added their recent unified and unilateral decision to reduce fare hike in the wake of oil price reductions is a classic example of how unity can bring about positive change to the Filipino people.
Last month, the transport groups unilaterally reduced by P0.50 the P7.50 minimum fare following the continuing decline of oil prices in the global market.
“They have shown the way for all of us to see how unity can make things happen for our countrymen. They did not wait for government action, they did it on their way and united they made a stand to give our commuters some relief,” Marcos said.
Marcos said the business sector should follow suit and bring about reduction in prices of their products.
He added the decision of the transport sector is an example to other sectors to start their own scheme to alleviate the plight of the public.
“This is a good example of social responsibility. I believe we have a lot of companies that are conscientious enough to start lowering prices on their own without government order or action and this is what they should do. These transport groups have shown the way and other sectors should follow suit,” Marcos said.
