TRANSPORT group Piston-Cebu has intensified its call for a nationwide resistance against the December 31 deadline imposed by the government for jeepney operators to surrender their franchises and consolidate into cooperatives.
The transport group has established a Help Desk in front of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board Central Visayas (LTFRB 7) office on Gen. Echavez Street, Cebu City at 1 p.m. on Thursday, December 28, 2023, to address inquiries from public utility jeepney (PUJ) operators who are uninformed and confused about the consolidation process.
In its press release, Piston-Cebu president Greg Perez said “the Marcos Jr. administration is hell-bent on removing the unconsolidated jeepneys from the streets that will condemn hundreds of thousands of jeepney drivers and operators into penury. While launching a media blitz that claims more Filipinos have been raised from poverty, and that more have joined the ranks of the employed, the stark reality is that the government has made more lives miserable. Yanking drivers and operators from jeepneys that have given them a ready job and their families a sure yet unsteady income will only worsen the situation of the lower classes.”
Piston-Cebu and its allies have also announced further measures as part of a nationwide initiative to oppose the phaseout plan implemented by Marcos Jr. through its transport sector agencies.
In a chat message on Thursday, December 28, Alyansa sa mga Mamumuo sa Sugbo-Kilusang Mayo Uno (AMA Sugbo-KMU) chairperson Jaime Paglinawan said they are planning to set up camp outside LTFRB 7 Thursday night, December 28, until Friday, December 29, 2023.
“If the event proceeds tonight, then tomorrow, the members of Piston-Cebu will head back to the Protest Center in Cebu and return to the LTFRB 7,” Paglinawan said in Cebuano.