The transport holiday participated by a little over a thousand public vehicles in Iloilo City and Bacolod City was not enough to cripple transportation on Monday, March 23, 2026.

Drivers and operators went on a transport holiday to raise their concerns on the skyrocketing prices of fuel and the suspension of the move to increase the minimum fare for public transport.

In Iloilo, up to 540 units of traditional and modernized PUJs participated in the transport holiday.

However, based on monitoring by the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), this did not affect a significant number of passengers.

This is because several transport cooperatives and PUJs continued to ply the streets.

The Iloilo City and Provincial Governments also provided free rides to workers and other commuters.

“Actually, ang pagtaas ng presyo ng produktong petrolyo, it’s not dito lang sa atin sa Pilipinas. Kung mag-transport strike kami, maramin na nga kaming problema sa coop, huwag na nating dagdagan,” said Cherry Acebuche, chairperson of MITSCOOP.

The drivers who did not stop working reasoned that they could not afford to skip a day earning for their family.

“Maraming kailangan para sa pamilya. Ang bigas, wala naman tayong aasahan,” said Ralph Pelaez, a driver.

In Bacolod, 500 units of PUJs and taxis joined the transport holiday but the initiative did not last long into the day after the city government called the groups concerned to a meeting.

“Ang commitment ng city, we will discuss it with LTFRB. Ang sa ayuda, per discussion with the national government ang nauna ay mula sa, halin sa DSWD,” said Mayor Greg Gasataya.

Rudy Catedral, president of BACOD Bacolod hopes government aid will reach them fast.

Back in Iloilo, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-6 said it will study whether or not to send a show cause order for those who joined the transport holiday.

“I am still awaiting the full report then we will evaluate and discuss with the regional director on how to move forward in this case,” said Atty. Joscet Abellar, chief of the Technical Section of LTFRB-6.

For the third week in a row, the prices of fuel may go up again, this time, by P16.50 to P17.50 per liter for diesel, and by P7.50 to P8.50 per liter for gasoline.