QC court orders arrest of PISTON’s George San Mateo

A Quezon City court has ordered the arrest of Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) national president George San Mateo for leading a transport strike.

Judge Don Ace Mariano Alagar of the Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 43 issued the warrant of arrest against San Mateo as it found probable cause for violation of Section 20 (k) of the Commonwealth Act No. 146 or The Public Service Act.

Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 43 orders arrest of PISTON president George San Mateo @gmanews pic.twitter.com/FEfM1GCvQJ

— Marlly (@marllybondoc) December 4, 2017

The local court set a P4,000 bail for San Mateo's temporary liberty.

PISTON canceled its two-day nationwide transport strike which was supposed to be held on December 4 and 5. San Mateo said they decided to heed the call of Senator Grace Poe to reconsider their protest action and instead air their concerns in the Senate committee on public services hearing on Thursday.

San Mateo said they will  conduct a protest movement instead at the Department of Justice or at the Metropolitan Trial Court on Tuesday to condemn the supposed "trumped-up" charges against him and the supposed "crackdown" against jeepney drivers and operators.

To recall, Assistant Prosecutor Marvelous Madamba charged San Mateo with violation of Section 20 (k) of Commonwealth Act No. 146 with a bail recommendation of P4,000.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) as the complainant in the case said they issued a press release reiterating the prohibition on the conduct of a transport strike led by operators of public utility vehicles on February 25 after they learned that PISTON and Stop and Go Transport Coalition were planning to conduct a follow-up protest to their February 6 nationwide transport strike.

LTFRB as represented by Atty. Carl Sha Jeremimah Marbella of their legal division alleged that despite the said prohibition, San Mateo still "made a media statement that his group will pursue the transport strike on February 27, which they pursued and resulted to a nationwide 'Tigil Pasada' of public utility jeepneys."

PISTON and other transport groups conducted the nationwide transport strike to oppose the government's public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.

The LTFRB, meanwhile, also alleged that San Mateo's statement "were meant to deliberately misinform the public regarding modernization program."

It said that San Mateo violated the Public Service Act as conducting a transport strike is an "adoption or application of a measure which affects the public in relation to the public service which the transport sector was supposed to provide."

Section 20 (k) of Commonwealth Act No. 146 states that any operator engaged in public service business shall "adopt, maintain, or apply practices or measures, rules or regulations to which the public shall be subject in its relations with the public service."

The Department of Transportation launched in June the PUV modernization program, setting higher and safety standards and introducing a new design.

Under the modernization program, PUVs are required to comply with “emission standards (Euro-4 and above) set forth in the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG).”

Fleet consolidation is also one of the components of the program, wherein the number of units will be determined by the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).

PISTON and other transport groups said drivers and operators will only be buried in debt with the PUV modernization program, adding that the minimum fare of jeepneys will also be hiked to P20 once the program rolls out. —KG/ALG, GMA News