LTFRB: Jeepney operations normal in Davao City amid transport strike

The operations of jeepneys in Davao City remained normal on Wednesday morning even as several groups held a city-wide transport strike in protest of the public utility vehicles (PUV) modernization program, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Davao Region said.

The LTFRB-11 said that upon monitoring the situation, no one joined the transport strike despite the initiative of Transmission-Piston Southern Mindanao, based on a Balitanghali report of Rgil Relator.

This as Transmission-Piston said that around 80% of the public utility jeepneys in Davao City were expected to participate in the transport strike to oppose the December 31, 2023 PUV consolidation deadline and the Davao Bus Project.

The LTFRB-11 earlier stressed that Davao City is not included in the year end consolidation deadline because the Davao Bus Project will be implemented in the city instead.

Despite this, the Transmission-Piston Southern Mindanao argued that they will face bigger challenges in the implementation of the Davao Bus Project because it is expected to affect the livelihood of thousands of PUJ drivers.

The Davao City local government unit, for its part, said that several measures have been put in place for the drivers and operators who will be affected by the project.

Transmission-Piston expressed hope that more PUJ drivers will join the transport strike on Wednesday afternoon.

The LTFRB-11 has coordinated with the City Transport and Traffic Management Office to tap bus operators in helping passengers who will be stranded because of the strike.

MANIBELA and PISTON, meanwhile, are currently in the midst of a two-week nationwide transport strike from December 18 to 29 in protest of the PUV operator consolidation.

They have earlier indicated that they are ready to extend the strike even beyond December 29 if their clamor would fall on deaf ears.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. previously declared that there will be no extension of the December 31 deadline for the PUV consolidation, saying that 70% of PUV operators "have already committed to and consolidated” under the PUVMP. —Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA Integrated News