VARIOUS transport groups on Thursday snubbed a protest caravan organized by the militant Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mgs Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide to dramatize its objection to the spate of oil price increases recently.
Orlando Marquez, spokesperson for the party-list group 1-United Transport, said transport groups – including the Liga ng Transportation at Operators ng Pilipinas, Federation of Jeepney Drivers and Operators of the Philippines, Pasang Masda, Makati Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association, Public Transport Workers Foundation, Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines – stayed away from the Piston-led protest action.
Other groups that stayed away from the strike were the Philippine Confederation of Drivers Organization-Association of Concerned Transport Operators, South Luzon BusOperators Association, Philippine Bus Operators Association, Integrated Manila Bus Operators Association, Association of Taxi Operators of Metro Manila, Federation of Transport Cooperative of Cebu, and Federation of Transport Cooperative of Mindanao in Davao.
“1-Utak held an executive committee meeting. Despite our common concerns (with Piston), such as the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, we decided not to join the strike,” Marquez told the Manila Standard.
He said 1-Utak party-list and its members are focused on other important, beneficial, and practical matters.
“It (should be clear) that there is no conflict between (our group) and Piston. However, we believe bringing the issue to the streets is not the solution to transport woes,” he noted.
These common concerns include the rollback of the P8.50 minimum jeepney fare, the modernization, rehabilitation and repowering program for public utility vehicles, the implementation of the single ticketing system, and the serious crackdown on colorum PUVs and mulcting traffic enforcers, Marquez said.
Piston said it plans to hold a major transport strike before Labor Day on May 1. –Rio N. Araja, Manila Standard Today
Invoke Article 33 of the ILO constitution
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