Will the transport strike in Metro Cebu push through?
If it will, who will be participating?
On Friday, March 3, 2023, Novy Medallo, chairman of the Federation of Cebu Transport Cooperatives (FCTC), was very vocal about his opposition to several transport groups’ plan to hold a transport holiday.
By the way, who came up with that term transport “holiday”?
Trust me, to the thousands of commuters who will be affected it will not be “a holy day” or “a day on which one is exempt from work” or “a vacation,” definitions I gleaned from merriam-webster.com.
Instead it will be a day of stress or a day of waiting for up to an hour in line for a ride or a day of getting home really late.
Thankfully, Medallo and members of the FCTC will be there to provide some respite.
He said they have more than 1,000 modern public utility vehicles in Central Visayas that can serve the riding public. However, these will still not be enough.
If I remember correctly, around 5,000 public utility vehicles (PUVs) plied Metro Cebu’s streets before the national government launched the PUV Modernization Program in 2017 “with the goal of making the country’s public transportation system efficient and environmentally friendly by 2020.”
Well, commuters will just have to make do since they don’t have a choice.
However, these future strikers ought to remember that the country was able to manage without public transport during the pandemic lockdown.
They should also take note that they are the minority now.
According to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in February, they belong to the 40 percent who have yet to go through the PUV Modernization Program.
Despite this, the national government recently gave them yet another break by extending the deadline for the phaseout of traditional jeepneys and other PUVs that are 15 years old or older to the end of the year.
So what more do they want?
They have 10 more months to comply with the requirements of the program. That should be ample time to consult with government stakeholders if they have any problems. Or will it be another round of threats of a transport “holiday” come January for those who steadfastly refuse to abide by the national directive?
As to allegations that Medallo and his fellow operators have been getting favors from LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr., I don’t know.
Maybe it’s because he and the FCTC belong to the 60 percent who have gone through the program.
Or maybe it’s because he and the FCTC have been working side by side with the government to make the transition smoother for everyone involved.
So that makes them and the LTFRB 7 the bad guys?