Drivers & Operators Participating In Transport Strike May Face Charges
NATIONWIDE TRANSPORT STRIKE – Drivers and operators who will participate in Mondays nationwide transport strike will be held liable for their actions said Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade.
The nationwide strike is in protest of the government’s plan to phase out old public utility vehicles by 2020. This is part of their Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program.
The Public Utilization Modernization Program was launched by the Department of Transportation of the Philippines back in 2017. It also calls for the phaseout of PUVs that are at least 15 years old.
Based on a report by Sunstar, Tugade stated that A transportation franchise is not a right, but a privilege. He then added that operators are responsible for providing passengers a comfortable ride.
Afterwards he commented that if the drivers and transport groups stop their operations, passengers would suffer. He also hoped that the transport groups would think about the passengers.
The Department of Transportation (DoTr) and LTFRB expressed their gratitude towards operators who supported the modernization project. They also gave their thanks to groups not joining the strike.
As per the report, both agencies assured coordination with the government and LGUs to mitigate the effects of the strike. They would also make efforts to help out the riding public.
In lieu of the upcoming transport strike, 20 PUV operators that have participated in last year’s strike led by Piston, have been revoked of their Certificates of Public Convenience (CPC).
According to LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III, the action of the drivers’ were in violation of the LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2011-004. He stated that joining protest that cause inconvenience to passengers insults the franchise granted by the government.
“Lumabag sila noon, harapin nila ang kinahinatnan ngayon”, said Delgra. He added that they wouldn’t hesitate to implement the order as operators simply don’t consider the inconvenience brought to passengers.
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