Manibela announces 3-day transport strike
Manibela President Mar Valbuena —Photo courtesy of Manibela Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — The transport group Manibela announced on Wednesday that it would hold a strike from March 24 to March 26 to protest the “lies” being told by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) about the government’s controversial Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
In a press briefing in Quezon City, Manibela president Mar Valbuena said they would push for the resignation of LTFRB Chair Teofilo Guadiz III for claiming that 86 percent of the country’s passenger vehicles have already consolidated to form cooperatives or corporations in accordance with the PTMP.
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This is a “complete lie” because Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon admitted that the 86 percent included drivers and operators’ groups whose consolidation applications have yet to be approved, Valbuena added.
“It’s because of their false data that we are suffering today, not just drivers and operators, but more so our commuters,” he said, lamenting that Manibela members who refused to consolidate were being “treated like criminals.”
Reacting to the Manibela strike, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in a statement that it was within the group’s rights to make its concerns heard. It added that Dizon had instructed DOTr officials to hold a dialogue with the transport group as soon as possible. —Jerome Aning
