|
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Metro transpo paralyzed 80% after 16 hr. strike
CEBU CITY -- The strike that crippled public transportation in Metro Cebu Tuesday ended after 16 hours.
The bad news is that if drivers get what they asked for, commuters will have to pay P1 to P1.50 more, on top of the basic fare of P4.
As promised, the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo (Nadsu) organized a strike that kept "80 percent" of public utility vehicles (PUVs) off Cebu City's streets, according to government estimates.
It was the second transport strike to hit Cebu this year.
Nadsu called off the strike at 4:45 p.m. after leaders saw "a ray of hope" during a dialogue with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7.
LTFRB 7 director Benito Dy-Cesar called the head office in Manila and was assured of an emergency public hearing this week on the petitions for fare increase, said Nadsu chairman Anthony Pogado.
Nadsu asked for a P1.50 increase in the basic fare.
Held hostage
Another petition filed in Cebu asked for an increase of P1 (for a minimum fare of P5) because gasoline prices have gone up by P5.23 per liter since the approval of the P4 minimum fare in the year 2000.
The petition was signed by Jaime Moncada of the Alyansa sa Nagkahiusang Driver-Operator Alang sa Reporma and Simeon Velez of Southern Cebu Operators and Drivers Association Inc.
The Council of Leaders from the different drivers' groups in Metro Cebu endorsed it.
The strike forced the Provincial Government and the City Governments of Cebu and Mandaue to field their own vehicles to pick up stranded commuters.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeņa said he sympathized with the drivers, but that a transport strike was not the solution to their demands.
"You're holding the people hostage," he said.
Including vehicles from northern and southern Cebu, Nadsu estimated they paralyzed transportation by 90 to 98 percent.
Chokepoint
Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom) executive director Dennis Jabonero said only 20 percent of PUVs in the city ferried passengers.
That forced the Cebu City Government to field 18 Kaohsiung buses, 32 multicabs and several barangay vehicles and City Hall trucks-manned by 700 workers, including 96 policemen, and volunteers.
Jabonero, quoting field reports, said that by 12:20 p.m., only 20 percent of PUVs were left in Inayawan, 19 percent in Talamban, 80 percent in Consolacion, 50 percent in Liloan, 50 percent in Compostela and Lapu-Lapu City, 10 percent in Banawa and Guadalupe.
No PUVs from the towns of Carcar, Naga, Minglanilla and San Fernando plied their routes Tuesday, he added.
Passengers from Liloan and Consolacion failed to make it even to Mandaue City, when protesting jeepney drivers blocked the Cebu North Road at the border of Consolacion and Mandaue City.
Multicabs plying the Liloan-Mandaue City route brought passengers only until the old Consolacion public market to avoid a confrontation with the protesting drivers a few meters away.
Stranded
The Consolacion Christian Drivers Association set up a "chokepoint" near the corner leading to Barangay Casili, Consolacion. They displayed a banner that stated their call for a fare increase and the rollback of oil prices.
Upon seeing a passenger-filled jeepney from the north, the protesters immediately blocked its path.
Around 10 drivers then approached the jeepney and asked the driver to pull over. Passengers were forced to disembark and walk or take a motorcycle-for-hire to Mandaue City.
In Mandaue, stranded passengers were able to ride for free in the City-owned buses stationed in pick-up points in Barangays Subangdaku, Jagobiao and Banilad.
Mandaue fielded five air-conditioned buses, one Kaohsiung bus and three dump trucks. Multicabs from five barangays were also deployed. At least 20 uniformed policemen were on board the government vehicles.
The Lapu-Lapu City Government also prepared its vehicles to pick up residents stranded outside the city. But public transport operations in the city terminal proceeded normally.
No classes
Major colleges and universities in Cebu City called off classes by noon.
Although only the administrators of the University of Cebu and the University of San Jose-Recoletos informed the Commission on Higher Education (Ched) 7 of the suspension of classes, Sun.Star found out that other big universities also followed suit.
By noon, students from the University of San Carlos, the University of the Visayas and Cebu Institute of Technology were also sent home.
Ched 7 Director Can-delario Aytona said they have left it to school administrators to decide whether they will suspend classes during transport strikes.
The primary consideration is the safety of the students, "especially now that we have problems in peace and order," Aytona said.
At the Capitol, Gov. Pablo Garcia allowed the employees to go home by 3 p.m. and only a skeletal workforce was left for the vital departments.
Gwendolyn Garcia, Capitol consultant for systems, promotion and development, said they planned to field the Provincial Government's five dump trucks to the Cebu South Bus Terminal and even some to the North Bus Terminal if these were needed.
The trucks could take the constituents to even "up to Santander" if necessary, she added. RHM/EOB/AAG/CYR/OCP
(February 11, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
|
|
 |
| click
to comment on this article or discuss it with other readers |
[return to top]
[home]
|
|
Fiesta mood signals start of campaign period