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BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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Friday, May 19, 2017
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ILOILO City – The Association of Taxi Operators in Panay (ATOP) is not joining the two-day strike of public utility jeepneys on June 5 and 6.
The strike is “counterproductive”, said ATOP president Perfecto Yap.
Timed with the resumption of classes, the transport strike “would really affect the public, especially sectors that badly need jeepney transport,” Yap told Panay News yesterday.
He urged jeepney associations to explore less detrimental ways of expressing opposition to the transportation modernization program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
The transport modernization program includes phasing out jeepneys 15 years old and older.
The jeepney drivers themselves will be affected by the strike, said Yap, as they will not be earning anything for two days.
“They should reconsider their decision. There must be some other way to let the government know of the jeepney drivers’ and operators’ sentiments,” he stressed.
According to Raymundo Parcon, president of the Iloilo City Loop Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICLAJODA), jeepney drivers and operators aim to make their protest massive and crippling.
During a recent visit here, LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra said the transport modernization program will commence next month.
Since the phaseout of jeepneys 15 years old and older will likely push through, said Yap, drivers and operators better suggest alternatives to the government.
“Hala kita ka-rally, wala man kita sang proposal nga ihatag sa gobyerno,” said Yap.
He has a suggestion – gradual and not immediate phaseout of old jeepneys.
Yap said jeepney drivers and operators may also press for a motor vehicle inspection system for the evaluation of jeepneys to determine which units are still serviceable and which must not be allowed to ply the streets anymore.
This would be the second strike of Western Visayas’ jeepney drivers and operators in three months. They joined a nationwide strike just this Feb. 27 against the jeepney phaseout.
LTFRB’s modernization program aims to improve public transport, he stressed.
“Dapat nga i-upgrade gid man ang transportation naton, especifically jeepneys. Some are very old na gid man kag very dangerous to our riding public,” said Yap.
“This is also a good opportunity for our jeepney operators to provide quality service to the riding public,” he added.
But Parcon said the phaseout will displace over “20,000” public utility jeepneys in the region.
“Many jeepney operators and drivers, and their families, will go hungry. This is why we are against this government plan,” said Parcon.
The jeepney started as remodeled army vehicles left behind by US forces after World War II, and became a showcase of Filipino ingenuity and resourcefulness. Mainly patronized by low- to middle-income passengers, it has become the core of Philippine public transport./PN
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