Drivers strike over plan to remove aging Philippine jeepneys
MANILA, Philippines –
Philippine transport teams launched a nationwide strike Monday to protest a authorities program drivers worry would part out conventional jeepneys, which have grow to be a cultural icon, and different getting older public transport automobiles.
Officials, nevertheless, braced with contingencies and deployed authorities automobiles to take stranded passengers in some areas. Other teams refused to hitch the weeklong strike that might preserve greater than 40,000 passenger jeepneys and vans off the streets within the Manila metropolis alone.
Protesting drivers and supporters held a loud rally in suburban Quezon metropolis within the capital area, then proceeded in a convoy to a authorities transport regulatory workplace to press their protest.
“We’re calling on the public to support the transport strike in any way possible,” mentioned Renato Reyes of the left-wing political alliance Bayan, which was backing the strike. “The inconvenience of the transport stoppage is temporary, but the loss of livelihood of drivers and operators would be long-term.”
At virtually midday, Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista mentioned no main transport disruption had been monitored. Other officers mentioned authorities automobiles had been deployed to hold commuters in some areas however didn’t instantly present extra particulars.
Morning rush-hour site visitors was heavy as standard in main roads in Manila and close by cities.
“There is no disruption except in a handful of routes in the national capital region,” President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s workplace mentioned by midday, citing studies from legislation enforcers.
Bautista warned that protesting drivers who would resort to violence and coercion to cease passenger automobiles not becoming a member of the strike would face legal fees.
Vice President Sara Duterte, who additionally serves as training secretary, drew criticisms after saying the strike is a communist rebel-inspired motion which will inconvenience college students.
The authorities transport modernization program, first launched in 2017, goals to interchange dangerously dilapidated and outdated passenger jeepneys and vans with fashionable automobiles, which have security options and conform with carbon emissions requirements. Vehicle house owners have to hitch transport cooperatives and companies by yr’s finish for higher transport administration.
Opponents say most poor drivers couldn’t afford to buy new passenger jeepneys even with promised authorities monetary help.
“It’s OK to have modernization for those who have money,” jeepney driver Benito Garcia informed The Associated Press. “But for us jeepney drivers and operators, we cannot afford.”
Others mentioned this system would imply the demise of the gaudily embellished and brightly coloured jeepneys, which have been considered Manila’s “King of the Road” and a showcase of Philippine tradition on wheels.
The diesel-powered jeepneys developed from U.S. army jeeps that American forces left behind after World War II. The automobiles had been modified after which reproduced, many with second-hand truck chassis, and for many years had been the preferred type of land transport among the many working class, although they cough out darkish fumes which were blamed for Manila’s notoriously polluted air.
