By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Two local transport groups have announced that they will not join the transport strike in Bacolod City.
The Sentrong Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators (SSTONE) and the Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Association (FEBACDA) will not join the strike, and instead they will prepare transport documents for submission next year.
The transport strike, which will be led by the Bacolod Alliance for Commuters, Operators and Drivers (BACOD), is in response to the impending phase out of all traditional public utility jeepneys on December 31.
BACOD president Rudy Catedral said they are calling off their planned transport strike on Wednesday, December 13.
He added that they are waiting for information from transport group Manibela on whether a strike will be held on a different date.
Catedral said Bacolod is not yet ready for the government’s transport modernization program.
They are asking the government to further extend their provisional authority by another year.
However, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. announced yesterday that the December 31 deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicle (PUV) operators will no longer be extended.
Marcos explained that 70 percent of all operators have already committed to and consolidated under the PUV Modernization Program.
“We cannot let the minority cause further delays, affecting the majority of our operators, banks, financial institutions, and the public at large,” Marcos said.
He added that adhering to the current timeline ensures that everyone can reap the benefits of the full operationalization of the country’s modernized public transport system, and hence the scheduled timeline will no longer be moved.
Meanwhile, Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Benitez, in a press conference on Monday, December 11, said commuters have nothing to worry about the transport strike, as public transportation will not be paralyzed.
Benitez has also requested modernized jeepney operators if they could extend their operating hours in the evening to accommodate employees working on night shifts, such as from business process outsourcing companies.
Around 600 modernized and 3,100 traditional jeepney units are operating in the city./DGB, WDJ