Jeepneys are commonly known as the “Kings of the Road” and are the most popular form of public transport in the Philippines. - PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: PEXELS via The Straits Times/ANN
MANILA, March 4 ( Philippines Daily Inquirer-ANN/Reuters): Several schools and local government units in the Philippines have suspended in-person classes and work operations in anticipation of a seven-day work strike organised by several transport groups nationwide next week.
The strike which is slated to start next Monday, according to transport group Manibela, is a protest against the impending phase-out of traditional jeepneys under the government’s implementation of the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernisation Programme.
This has prompted some schools and local governments to declare a shift to online or remote set-ups for their classes and work operations.
The city government of Manila on Saturday asked public schools to conduct asynchronous classes for students at all levels due to the upcoming transport strike. It also encouraged private schools within the city to do the same.
Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr of Angeles City in the Pampanga province north-west of Manila issued a memorandum suspending in-person classes at all levels – in both public and private schools – during the transport strike. Ten buses will also be deployed by the local government to provide free rides for commuting workers during the strike, he added.
Some universities said work in their school offices will be done remotely, except in cases where staff members must perform their duties on site.
Manibela national president Mar Valbuena said earlier this week that the “tigil pasada” – the first major protest of the sector since PUVs were allowed to operate at full capacity since the pandemic struck three years ago – would involve an estimated 40,000 traditional jeepneys and UV express vehicles, which comprise multi-purpose vehicles and vans. It would “ensure employees won’t be able to come to work”, he added.
He did not disclose the specific routes that would be affected by the strike but said it would be held in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), and other regions as well.
“We ask for the understanding of the public. If we don’t fight this, the commuters will suffer more,” said Valbuena.
Under the PUV plan, the franchise for traditional jeepneys was supposedly set to expire by the end of March nationwide, except for Metro Manila where the franchise would be valid until the end of April.
But the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), the PUV programme’s implementing agency, on Feb 23 extended it to June 30. This deadline was pushed further to Dec 31 for traditional jeepney franchise holders to consolidate or join existing cooperatives.
Jeepneys were originally created from abandoned US military jeeps after World War II, and later reproduced by Filipinos to meet Manila’s transport needs.
The open-air minibuses, which are festooned with bright decorations, pictures and slogans, are commonly known as the “Kings of the Road” and are the most popular form of public transport in the Philippines.
But they have been pinpointed as a major pollution source, accounting for almost half of airborne particulate matter in Metro Manila, according to a 2018 study by the National Centre for Transportation Studies at the University of the Philippines.
In 2017, the transport ministry ordered jeepneys aged 15 years or older to be replaced with modern vehicles imported from neighbouring Asian countries such as Japan and China.
Transport operators said the PUV programme is pushing them into debt through hefty loans and maintenance issues, and have urged officials to rethink their plans.
A spokesman for the LTFRB said it was supporting jeepney operators with subsidies towards new vehicles. Those giving up their transport franchises would get “social support”, he said, such as free skills training and other work opportunities. - Philippines Daily Inquirer-ANN/Reuters
