The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday refuted the claims of transport group Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (MANIBELA) that the agency failed to address the various concerns of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators.
“DOTr, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) have been in the past many weeks engaged in consultations with our PUV drivers and operators regarding their concerns such as the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP),” the Transport agency said.
According to the DOTr, the LTFRB has always been fair in implementing its mandate based on the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) either to corporations or cooperatives.
The LTFRB also appealed to MANIBELA to cancel its planned three-day transport strike to coincide with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on July 24.
“We urge them not to push through with the strike since this is not all about the modernization (program) and the affected stakeholders,” board member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said.
“The most important consideration is the welfare of the riding public because they will be most affected here,” she added.
MANIBELA president Mar Valbuena threatened to stage a three-day strike from July 24 to July 26 to disrupt public transport after failure to meet DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista and LTFRB chairman Teofilo Guadiz III in a dialogue to resolve the phaseout of the old jeepneys.
MANIBELA, which has around 3,000 members, said groups from other provinces have expressed interest in joining the transport holiday on July 24 to July 26.
Paras-Leynes said that the agency is coordinating with its regional counterparts to validate the possible participants to the planned strike in their areas.
Transport groups earlier said they are planning a three-day transport strike to coincide with President Marcos’ SONA.
Mr. Marcos will deliver his second SONA on July 24, a Monday.
Participants of the transport strike will come from Metro Manila, Calabarzon, and Central Luzon.
Meanwhile, the Philippine National Police (PNP announced a 24-hour gun ban in three regions in the country to secure the President’s second SONA at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
In an advisory, Police BGen. Leo Francisco, chief of the PNP Directorate for Operations, said the suspension of the Permit to Carry Firearms Outside Residence (PTCFOR) will be in effect from 12:01 a.m. until 11:59 p.m. on the day of the SONA.
The gun ban will cover the entire Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Region IV-A or Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon).
The PNP earlier said it will deploy more than 22,000 policemen and augmentation forces to secure during the SONA, around 5,000 of which would be deployed near the Batasang Pambansa.
While it has yet to receive any report of security threats, the police said it continuously assesses all information it has been receiving about the event. With Vince Lopez
