{"id":61613,"date":"2011-09-19T23:26:59","date_gmt":"2011-09-19T15:26:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/?p=61613"},"modified":"2016-11-03T15:43:55","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T07:43:55","slug":"metro-strike-fizzles-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinfo.inquirer.net\/61613\/metro-strike-fizzles-out","title":{"rendered":"Metro strike fizzles out"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

TRANSPORT STRIKE. Protesters wave placards and shout slogans during Monday\u2019s rally along Espa\u00f1a Boulevard in Manila to protest oil price increases and call for the scrapping of the oil deregulation law. NI\u00d1O JESUS ORBETA<\/p><\/div>\n

The strike that a militant transport group staged Monday to push for fuel price cuts and to protest the oil deregulation law and a tax on toll fizzled out in Metro Manila and other areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seemed the protesters were not able to gain support even from their ranks,\u201d said Francis Tolentino, chairman of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.<\/p>\n

The strike, however, crippled public transportation in a number of towns and cities in the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Quezon in southern Luzon and in the cities of Davao, Iligan and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao.<\/p>\n

Malaca\u00f1ang patted itself on the back for its preparedness in Metro Manila as it assailed the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston) and other protesters for \u201cchoosing to be part of the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only a few people were stranded in a very limited area in Metro Manila because the government did its job, according to Malaca\u00f1ang.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Regions 1, 2 and 3, there were no strikes. In Region 4, 11 buses were deployed to ferry stranded commuters en route to San Pedro and Sta. Rosa, Laguna,\u201d presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said at a noontime briefing.<\/p>\n

Lacierda said there was no strike in Region 7 as of 7:30 a.m. \u201cIn Region 10, there is 40-percent participation, but did not affect the transport,\u201d he said, quoting Transportation Secretary Manuel \u201cMar\u201d Roxas II.<\/p>\n

That was not so in Davao City. Desiderio Cloribel, chief of the Traffic Management Center, said at least 80 percent of public transportation in the city was paralyzed.<\/p>\n

Davao City Hall deployed 40 buses and 20 dump trucks to ferry stranded passengers.<\/p>\n

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte distributed P75 worth of breakfast and lunch for each protester and meal allowance for each government employee.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as I sympathize with your plight, there\u2019s nothing that the local government can do because it\u2019s the national government that can do something about it,\u201d the mayor said.<\/p>\n

In Cagayan de Oro City, Senior Superintendent Gerardo Rosales, the city police chief, said 80 percent of the public transport system was paralyzed.<\/p>\n

Iligan crippled<\/strong><\/p>\n

But there was total paralysis of public transportation in Iligan City where militant groups set up choke points in strategic areas.<\/p>\n

Only jeepneys plying routes outside the city were on the road. Commuters made do of the few taxis and a throng of bicycles to take them around Iligan City.<\/p>\n

The transport strike was hardly felt in the cities of Cotabato, Tagum and Zamboanga.<\/p>\n

In Tagum City, Senior Superintendent Edgardo Wycoco, Davao del Norte police chief, said at least 10 percent of the tricycle drivers opted not to ply their routes, \u201cbut still the overall situation was normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Cotabato City, jeepney drivers continued to ferry passengers, saying stopping their operation would cost them more.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is hard. We need to work, while we sympathize with our co-drivers nationwide. That is our consensus,\u201d said Benjamin San Diego, a driver for 20 years.<\/p>\n

Laguna, Batangas, Cavite<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Laguna, the strike was most felt in Sta. Rosa City and Cabuyao, said the Southern Tagalog Transport Sector Organization (Starter), the local affiliate of Piston.<\/p>\n

Rolando Mingo, chair of Starter, said 95 percent of jeepneys, plying the route of San Pedro to Calamba City, passing through Bi\u00f1an City, Sta. Rosa City and Cabuyao did not ply their routes starting at 8:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

Jeepneys from the Balibago terminal in Sta. Rosa joined the strike, paralyzing 95 percent of the routes going to Silang and Tagaytay City in Cavite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a hard time catching a ride from Cabuyao,\u201d said Ronualdo Tadel, 20, who paid P50 for a special trip on a tricycle to reach Calamba.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can say there were a lot (of drivers) who joined today\u2019s strike,\u201d said Alfredo Mendoza of the Calamba police.<\/p>\n

Mendoza, who owns two units of passenger jeepneys for his sideline, said he asked his drivers to keep off the streets to sympathize with the drivers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s OK for them to hold a rally as long as they won\u2019t force the other drivers to join them. So far, we have not had any report of such in Calamba and (the strike) has been peaceful,\u201d Mendoza said.<\/p>\n

Free ride<\/strong><\/p>\n

The regional office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board<\/p>\n

(LTFRB) provided two buses that offered free rides to the public in Calamba.<\/p>\n

As of noon Monday, Starter reported a 90-percent transport paralysis in the towns of Los Ba\u00f1os, Bay, Victoria, Pila, Sta. Cruz, Pagsanjan, Lumban, Paete, Pakil, Siniloan, Alaminos and Calauan, and San Pablo City in Laguna.<\/p>\n

In Cavite, the group also claimed 90-percent transport paralysis in General Mariano Alvarez, Rosario, Imus, Carmona, Bacoor and Dasmari\u00f1as City.<\/p>\n

Starter said 80 percent of transportation from Tiaong, Quezon, to Batangas was paralyzed, while militants in the cities of Batangas, Lipa and Tanauan, and in Lemery town held protest rallies.<\/p>\n

Public utility buses plying the Manila-south Luzon route did not join the strike. They called off their protest caravan against the toll hikes to help motorists affected by the transport strike.<\/p>\n

Batangas Vice Governor Marc Leviste, who announced the cancellation of the motorcade of provincial buses in the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (Star) tollway, from Batangas City to Calamba, said \u201cwe will resume (the protest) later this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bus operators were the same group that staged a motorcade on Thursday from Magallanes in Makati City to Calamba, via the South Luzon Expressway.<\/p>\n

Piston said that its affiliate groups also held transport strikes in Rizal province, Regions 10 and 12, and that protest actions were held simultaneously in Baguio City, Santiago City in Isabela province, Bacolod, Cebu and Iloilo.<\/p>\n

Noise barrage<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Baguio, members of the local chapter of Piston visited seven jeepney terminals to air their grievances.<\/p>\n

The group later held a three-minute noise barrage at the intersection of Session Road and Magsaysay Avenue using gongs, bottles, sticks and whistles. They asked drivers of passing vehicles to blow their horns as a gesture of support for their call.<\/p>\n

In Isabela, a 10-vehicle convoy led by members of Piston and militant groups went around Santiago City asking for the people\u2019s support in stopping oil price increases.<\/p>\n

The caravan also went around Cauayan City and the towns of Ilagan and Roxas.<\/p>\n

Drivers in the cities of San Jose and Cabanatuan said they needed to earn so they did not join the strike.<\/p>\n

In Bacolod province, about 75 members of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center and Bayan-Negros gathered at the public plaza to call for an end to the imposition of value-added tax on oil products, the \u201coverpricing\u201d by big oil firms and the oil deregulation law.<\/p>\n

In Iloilo City, some 100 protesters joined a rally in the afternoon at Plazoletagay, the city\u2019s main intersection.<\/p>\n

The protesters ended their rally with a noise barrage which was joined by jeepney drivers who sounded their horns.<\/p>\n

In Aklan province, Bayan, Piston and other militant groups also held a rally at around 10 a.m. at the West Aklan Terminal in the capital town of Kalibo.<\/p>\n

The LTFRB reported that most areas in the country were unaffected by the transport strike.<\/p>\n

Worst-hit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regions 10 and 11 were the worst-hit areas by the strike, the LTFRB said. About 40 percent of jeepneys in Region 10 and 80 percent in Region 11 refused to ply their routes, according to LTFRB Board Member Manuel Iway.<\/p>\n

Piston secretary general George San Mateo criticized the Aquino administration for its \u201cinaction and incapacity to act on unabated oil price hikes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Transportation Secretary\u00a0 Roxas visited protesters near his home in Cubao, Quezon City, one of the major centers for Piston\u2019s rallies.<\/p>\n

He assured groups that steps were being taken to mitigate the effects of rising fuel prices on consumers and public transport operators alike.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe heard the public and transport groups\u2019 sentiments on the continuous oil price hike, thus the government has quickly taken concrete action to check if there is any collusion among oil firms to control oil prices in the market,\u201d Roxas said in a statement.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n

Roxas noted the \u201cquestionable collaboration\u201d among oil firms that may result in illegal price setting\u2014at the expense of commuters.<\/p>\n

He said President Aquino had formed an interagency task force to investigate the existence of any such arrangement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect the transport group\u2019s rights to strike and air their views. We only want to ensure that the strikes are peaceful and will create minimal effects on the daily lives of our citizens and local trade,\u201d he said.\u00a0 With reports from Miko Morelos and Paolo G. Montecillo in Manila; Desiree Caluza and Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon; Armand Galang, Anselmo Roque and Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon; Carla P. Gomez and Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Inquirer Visayas; and Germelina Lacorte, Ryan D. Rosauro, Bobby Lagsa, Richel V. Umel, Frinston L. Lim and Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The strike that a militant transport group staged Monday to push for fuel price cuts and to protest the oil deregulation law and a tax on toll fizzled out in Metro Manila and other areas. \u201cIt seemed the protesters were not able to gain support even from their ranks,\u201d said Francis Tolentino, chairman of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":61617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[481,41,36,34,37,45,530],"tags":[284,3480,49,1404,1707,17099,206081],"byline":[288,132],"source":[385,206078],"column":[],"editor":[],"videographer":[],"position":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMetro strike fizzles out | Inquirer 黑料社<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The strike that a militant transport group staged Monday to push for fuel price cuts and to protest the oil deregulation law and a tax on toll fizzled out\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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Protesters wave placards and shout slogans during Monday\u2019s rally along Espa\u00f1a Boulevard in Manila to protest oil price increases and call for the scrapping of the oil deregulation law. 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