Sunday, May 11, 2008
Not all Cebu drivers want to join jeepney strike
MOST of Cebu’s transport groups plan to stay out of the jeepney strike their counterparts in Manila will stage tomorrow, saying it will neither bring down fuel prices nor add to their income.
Ruben Rama, secretary general of the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo (Nadsu), complained that some transport leaders lack sincerity in protecting the drivers’ interest.
The Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has mapped out security measures to ensure that drivers who will not join the protest will be protected from harassment.
CCPO Director Patrocinio Comendador said the traffic division headed by Chief Insp. Jonathan Abella was tasked to identify chokepoints where rallyists converge. The Mobile Patrol Group (MPG) will constantly patrol these areas.
Comendador warned the strikers and their sympathizers not to intimidate or harm those who decide to ply their routes. Those caught using spikes to keep other drivers off the streets will be charged with malicious mischief, he warned.
Not united
In Cebu, however, only Nadsu has announced it will join the strike, which the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) is organizing.
Rama admitted that Cebu transport leaders are not united, so Nadsu is not sure whether to participate in the strike or just hold a protest caravan.
Ryan Yu of the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-Purpose Cooperative (Citrasco) and Dandy Aparicio of Visayan United Drivers Transport Service Cooperative (Vudtrasco), for their part, said they will not be participating in any strike.
While Rama said that Nadsu has more than 7,000 members, Citrasco and Vudtrasco, plus the Alyansa sa mga Nagkahiusang Drivers Alang sa Reporma, still make up the majority, at least in Cebu City.
During the Regional Managers Conference in Panglao, Bohol last May 8 and 9, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) did not act on the petition by jeepney drivers’ groups to raise the minimum fare from P6 to P7.50.
Review
LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardes said the petition is still being studied by the National Economic and Development Authority.
“If we increase the fare rate now, it will have a domino effect, such as the increase in the prices of prime commodities and the cost to transport goods,” Bernardes said.
Bernardes, however, is amenable to the suggestion of Citrasco’s Yu to give livelihood projects to the wives and dependents of the drivers to augment their income. Yu has asked for the LTFRB’s help in tapping capital for livelihood projects.
In an exclusive interview, LTFRB Chairman Thompson Lantion said Friday that the government is offering a subsidy of P2 per liter to the drivers to augment their income.
Legitimate groups
Lantion, who presided over the managers’ conference, said the mechanics will include the distribution of “subsidy passbooks” to drivers who belong to “legitimate” drivers’ organizations.
The LTFRB will monitor the subsidies every week, to prevent fraud, he added.
However, Rama said that Nadsu will oppose the subsidy plan, which they consider a ploy of the Arroyo administration to ward off fare increase petitions.
Instead of presenting a “Band-aid” solution to the transport problem, the government must repeal the Expanded-Value Added Tax law and the Oil Deregulation Law, he added.
Meanwhile, Julie Flores, president of the Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators’ Association, said they will not join any transport strike because they are not asking for a fare increase.
Instead, they will just implement the existing rates of P8.50 for the first five kilometers and P1.30 per succeeding kilometer.
Richard Cabucos of the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators’ Association said taxi drivers have never participated in any transport strike. So even if a transport strike is held in Cebu tomorrow, the more than 5,000 taxi units will continue to ply the streets.
Cebu City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem, chairman of the council committee on transportation, said it’s high time car owners adopted fuel saving measures, like carpooling with classmates and officemates, planning for all trips and staying home more often.
Jakosalem said the government should also plan for and implement incentives for public utility vehicles. (EOB/JST)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (May 11, 2008 issue)
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