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Friday, December 14, 2007
Strike failed to cripple public transport in metro: officials
MANILA -- Authorities said the public transportation in Metro Manila is still normal despite the announcement of a major transport group that their strike paralyzed close to 70 to 90 percent of transportation in the metropolis and neighboring provinces.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Geary Barias said the overall situation in the metropolis remains normal although he admitted there were routes affected by the transport strike.
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The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) launched the transport strike on Thursday to protest the continuous rise in the prices of oil and the Oil Deregulation Law, which they said only contributed to their predicament.
Barias said members of the striking transport group were monitored in their protest centers in Monumento in Caloocan City and Welcome (Mabuhay) Rotonda; Cubao in Quezon City; J.P. Rizal in Makati City as well as in Crossing area in Calamba City in Laguna province.
Piston drivers were seen seeking to convince public utility drivers to stop plying their routes and join in the protest action.
Members of activist groups such as Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), and Anakpawis also joined Piston members in rally points.
Barias said among the routes affected by the strike were in Malabon-Navotas, Guadalupe-Pateros, Cubao-Cogeo, Rizal Avenue in Sta. Cruz, Manila and Quezon Avenue and Kamias Road in Quezon City.
The number of jeepneys plying some areas in Pasay City and Manila were reported decreased early Thursday morning but commuters in general were able to catch jeepney rides.
Barias placed the 14,000-strong NCRPO on full alert status on Wednesday in preparation for the strike.
The policemen were tasked to be on the lookout for people or groups that might take advantage of the protests.
According to Barias, eight police buses were deployed to selected areas in Metro Manila to give stranded passengers free rides.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), for its part, said 54 buses, trucks and equipment were to be deployed to 19 routes in northern and southern Metro Manila.
Heavy trucks and equipment were also deployed to clear barricades that may put up by protesters.
At least 1,500 MMDA enforcers were also mobilized to escort "Libreng Sakay" (Free ride) vehicles, together with policemen.
MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando said the strike failed to cripple public transportation even as he urged the public to just go on with their daily chores and ignore the rallyists "who just wanted to preen before the media."
"Traffic situation were placed under control in all identified rally centers in Metro Manila, except in Monumento and other pockets of protests actions that were joined in by militant groups," Fernando said.
On the other hand, MMDA Traffic Operations Center executive director Angelito Vergel de Dios said they reacted quickly with the dispatch of free rides and deployment of policemen in problem areas.
"The strike so far failed to cripple transportation in areas where there are pockets of protest action," de Dios said.
The MMDA also responded by lifting the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP) during the strike.
The 54 government service vehicles sent by the MMDA and local government units were able to ferry the stranded passengers to their destinations.
Stranded passengers were spotted along the portions of East Service Road in Taguig; C-5 Road, J.P. Rizal Avenue and Guadalupe in Makati City; Cubao in Quezon City; Alabang terminal; Ever Grand Central; Kalayaan Avenue corner Kamias Road and Philcoa in Quezon City; Aduana Circle; Manila South Harbor; Taytay public market in Rizal province; Shaw Boulevard; and Taft Avenue, Magsaysay Boulevard and Avenida Rizal in Manila.
Traffic personnel allowed tricycles to pick up passengers along some major roads due to scarcity of jeepneys.
In Davao City, organizers said the strike has paralyzed 95 percent of the city's public transport.
The strike, which was spearheaded by the Transport of Southern Mindanao for Solidarity, Independence and Nationalism-Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Transmision-Piston), started dawn of Thursday. It resulted in the suspension of classes of big universities and public schools in the city.
The Ateneo de Davao University suspended its classes from college down to preschool levels and also the Davao City National High School, the biggest public high school in Davao.
However, authorities in Davao City disputed claims that the strike was supported by majority of the city's jeepney drivers and operators. They said the strike only paralyzed about 20 percent of the transport operations.
Organizers Thursday night decided not to push through with the second day of the protest action Friday.
On the other hand, the strike in Cagayan de Oro City lasted at about 3 p.m. Thursday.
Transport leaders in Cagayan de Oro and city police had their own interpretations of Thursday's strike, which disrupted the city's traffic flow.
City police said the strike affected 75 percent of public transport, but militant leftist transport groups insisted it disrupted 85 percent of public utility vehicles (PUVs), notably passenger jeepneys. (AH/Sunnex/With reports from Sun.Star Davao and Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro. (December 14, 2007 issue)
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