Bus strike strands thousands in Metro

MANILA, Philippines – Thousands of commuters were stranded in key points in Metro Manila yesterday as public utility buses stopped operations to protest implementation of number coding or the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program (UVVRP).

Police said many of the commuters were stranded along EDSA, from Caloocan City to Alabang in Muntinlupa. No commuters were reported stranded in the city of Manila and northern Metro Manila.

However, bus operators denied that they went on strike yesterday.

Claire de la Fuente, the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association president, told reporters they were not able to deploy enough buses because some drivers did not report for work on the impression that the planned strike had pushed through.

They had called off the strike after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) assured them late Sunday night that priority would be given to discussing the UVVRP’s implementation, De la Fuente said.

The meeting happened too late in the day and some bus operators had not been informed about the change of plan, De la Fuente said.

The UVVRP banned many of the buses from the streets yesterday, according to Grace Adducul, counsel for the bus operators.

In Quezon City, at least 5,000 commuters were stranded along Commonwealth Avenue, from Fairview to the Quezon Memorial Circle.

In Eastern Metro Manila, 600 commuters were stranded in Pasay City, 700 in Parañaque and 200 in Muntinlupa.

The MMDA deployed 72 buses and trucks to ferry stranded commuters, particularly along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

The National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO) fielded seven 6×6 trucks and a bus and Camp Crame sent four trucks and two buses to ply the Fairview-EDSA route in Quezon City.

The military deployed seven buses and 28 trucks along major streets in Metro Manila.

Tolentino to LTFRB: Sanction striking buses

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino called on the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to sanction the striking bus firms for violating their certificates of public conveyance.

The strike’s impact was cushioned after the LTFRB granted special permits to bus firms in Cavite to temporarily ply routes in Metro Manila, he added.

Tolentino said the 17 mayors would decide whether to re-include buses passing through Metro Manila in the UVVRP.

Speaking over radio dzMM, Tolentino said the MMDA is powerless to stop the UVVRP’s implementation.

“The decision to change this will come from the Metro Manila Council,” he said.

He told bus operators to use the one-day off the streets to make repairs on their buses and make sure that their drivers are properly rested, he added.

Tolentino also urged operators to consider rationalizing the compensation of bus drivers, who earn on a commission basis.

“This compensation scheme encourages bus drivers to drive recklessly and swiftly so as to maximize their earnings, in the process causing traffic gridlock in the metropolis,” he said.

Tolentino is confident that the MMDA can handle a possible spillover of yesterday’s bus strike tomorrow.

“My role is to implement the Metro Manila Council resolution reimposing the number coding scheme on city and provincial public utility buses,” he said.

DOTC: We will sanction them

• Dante Velasco, Transportation and Communications undersecretary for public information, said the bus companies will face sanctions because their strike was illegal and defying a lawful MMDA order.

• “They did not deploy many of their buses so they defied the order,” he said.

Meanwhile, George San Mateo, Piston (Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide) secretary-general, called on President Aquino to stop the MMDA from implementing the UVVRP without consulting bus operators.

“The scheme is also anti-poor because it limits public utility vehicles plying the streets and ridden by the thousands of ordinary and poor citizens while the MRT and LRT are both already overcrowded,” he said.

“Bus drivers and conductors will also suffer diminished days of work and income as a result of the scheme.”

4 lawmakers hit at striking buses

Four lawmakers called yesterday on the LTFRB to revoke the franchises of striking bus companies.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said he will work for the cancellation of their franchises. “There are means to address or seek redress for their grievances,” he said. “The commuters should not suffer.”

Ang Kasangga Rep. Teodorico Haresco said authorities must not yield to pressure from striking bus firms.

“The government must not succumb to this kind of coercion that uses the riding public as hostage, especially the poor and micro-entrepreneurs, to achieve their ends,” he said.

“This is coming from a sector that has a long history of resisting attempts at government regulation and violating transport laws and tax regulations.”

Based on LTO and LTFRB records, only 5,332 buses can legally operate in Metro Manila, he added.

DIWA Rep. Emmeline Aglipay and San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor Ejercito called on the MMDA to reconsider implementing the number coding scheme and instead focus their attention on buses without franchises.

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño urged the Bureau of Internal Revenue yesterday to look into the tax liabilities of bus operators.

In Quezon City and San Juan, the bus strike caused the Department of Education (DepEd) to suspend classes yesterday afternoon in public and private elementary and high schools.

During a hearing last week, Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco, House of Representatives committee on Metro Manila development chairman, said under the terms of their franchises, bus companies have committed to provide service to the public. -–Mike Frialde and Reinir Padua (The Philippine Star) with Rainier Allan Ronda, Non Alquitran, Paolo Romero, Jess Diaz, Alexis Romero, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Jerry Botial