Transport groups set nationwide protest on first day of classes

Transport groups are gearing up for another round of nationwide protest actions on Monday against the Department of Transportation's order to phase out jeepney units, 15 years and older, a radio report said Saturday.

DzBB's Divine Reyes reported that the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) president George San Mateo said the nationwide transport strike will coincide with the opening of classes.

PISTON members in Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental will completely halt their operations while those in Central Luzon, Bicol, and Southern Tagalog will hold a protest caravan.

Despite the martial rule in Mindanao and the ongoing armed crisis in Marawi City, PISTON-Mindanao will still try to hold picket rallies at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) headquarters in General Santos City and Cagayan de Oro City.

In Metro Manila, centralized activities will be staged, but will not result in a transport strike.

San Mateo earlier warned of higher fares if old units are phased out because the cost of replacing jeepneys with cleaner and more fuel-efficient units—Euro 4 compliant engines or e-jeepneys —are are high.

PISTON also claimed that the Transportation department's phaseout plan is anti-poor as jeepney operators are also required to have at least 20 units and a capitalization of at least P7 million for a franchise to be issued.

The group is asking the government to rehabilitate older units instead because small operators cannot afford e-jeepneys as each unit costs around P1.6 million. —Rie Takumi/LBG, GMA News