MY favorite cause-oriented group is at it again.
Yup. You got it. Members of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide, or Piston, will take to the streets tomorrow, Oct. 16.
According to its Cebu coordinator, Greg Perez, the group will only conduct a one-day strike unlike its counterpart in the National Capital Region, which will be demonstrating for two straight days.
You see, Perez said that other local militant groups with their own causes will also hold protests here in Cebu on Tuesday. I guess they don’t want the public to get confused. Or they don’t like to share the streets. Or they’re just not too keen on socializing.
Either way, Cebu will be wracked by demonstrations in the next two days.
So why is Piston having a hissy fit? Its third of the year. Huh?
Is it because its members continue to oppose the government’s plan to overhaul the public transportation sector?
Whisper “modernization” among Piston’s ranks and they will all make the sign of the cross. Somehow, over the years, the word has taken on an ominous meaning to its members. It has become anathema to them.
Perez half-heartedly apologized in advance, sort of, to the commuting public, saying they have no intention of paralyzing public transportation but “they cannot stop other jeepney drivers who are sympathetic to their cause from participating.”
Perez told SunStar Cebu’s Justin K. Vestil that they will conduct their activities in “protest centers” in the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.
Well, isn’t that thoughtful of him?
But isn’t he the same guy, who, earlier this year after one of their protests, proudly announced that their strike paralyzed 80 percent of jeepney routes in Metro Cebu even though LTFRB 7 Director Ahmed Cuizon said only 20 percent of the routes were affected.
I have nothing personal against Perez. In fact, I don’t know him personally. But I do have a beef against what his group stands for.
To those who still don’t know, and, by the way, I’m writing this for what seems like the umpteenth time, Piston’s protest is all about a provision in the government’s PUV modernization program that disallows all public utility vehicles that are 15 year and older from plying their routes.
As I have said before, their actions prove that they are only looking out for themselves. After all, why insist on driving what some commuters will swear to is a speeding tin coffin?
There are several legitimate reasons behind the government’s proposed phaseout of old units, you know.
First of all, they’re a major source of air pollution. You don’t believe me? Try standing at the corner of R. Landon St. and Jones Ave. in Cebu City during rush hour. The smoke belched from jeepneys can choke even the most hardy of pedestrians.
Second, they tend to break down. Often. And when that happens, traffic ensues. Major, major headache for drivers and commuters alike. Or worst. Accidents.
I’m not sure if Piston will bring up Joint Administrative Order 2014-01, which carries higher penalties for traffic violators, because the group also took to the streets last July to express its opposition to what it claims was an additional financial burden to its members.
Still, there might come a time when the riding public will have had enough of such stunts. And what then?
Perez should take to heart what millennials know for a fact, that in life “walang forever.”