The Palace has called transport group Manibela to a meeting today to discuss pressing issues in their sector, especially for public utility jeepneys, and head off a planned nationwide strike on Monday.
Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena said in a TV Patrol report that he received a call from Malacañang on Friday night for a dialogue on the government’s planned traditional-jeepney phaseout and the “indefinite” transport strike their group called on Monday, October 16.
“If there is a dialogue tomorrow and (issued are) not agreed upon, it (transport strike) will continue,” Valbuena said.
Meanwhile, some local government units and schools have announced the suspension of face-to-face classes from Oct. 16 to 17 due to the nationwide transport strike to be carried out by jeepney drivers and operators beginning Monday.
Classes would be done online, as Manibela said it will push through with its protest against the Dec. 31 deadline for the mandatory jeepney franchise consolidation, a component of the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program. Charles Dantes
The following LGUs and schools have announced the temporary shift to virtual learning: Angeles City, Pampanga; Santa Rosa, Laguna; De La Salle University Manila; and UERM Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.
Manibela earlier said more than half of the 300,000 jeepneys under the organization are expected to stop operations, although Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said he believes the group cannot muster those numbers.
Drivers of UV Express, taxis, and ride-hailing vehicles will also join the strike, Manibela claimed.