Multi-sector groups back 2-day transport strike

FILE: In a press conference in UP Diliman, Confederate for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees president Ferdinand Gaite said the plan to phase-out old-jeepneys would result in higher fares ranging from PHP12 to PHP20 from the current PHP8.
(Photo: penreyes/ Facebook)

MANILA — Various labor and student groups on Monday expressed their support to the two-day transport strike led by jeepney drivers and operators concerning the jeepney modernization program.

In a press conference in UP Diliman, Confederate for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees president Ferdinand Gaite said the plan to phase-out old-jeepneys would result in higher fares ranging from PHP12 to PHP20 from the current PHP8.

Gaite said that several government workers with their meager salaries could not afford the more expensive options of transportation such as taxis and transport network vehicle services (TNVS) like Grab and Uber.

“As it is, transportation expenses already eat up a substantial portion of employee’s salaries. Our take-home pay is not even enough to take us home,” Gaite said.

Gaite said that while he sees the need to improve the public transport system in the country, the modernization program should take into account the welfare of the affected sectors and not that of the private investors and capitalists.

“In many countries, a highly efficient publicly-owned mass transport system is operated not for profit but as a service of the state to bring the people to their destinations,” Gaite said.

For her part, Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (AGHAM) campaign officer Cleng Julve echoed Gaite’s sentiments, saying that the government should undertake schemes that would benefit drivers, operators, and the commuting public.

Julve suggested that the government grant subsidy to small and single-unit operators for rehabilitation and upgrading of technology of their vehicles.

She said the “palit-jeep” scheme should allow jeepney drivers and operators to swap their old jeepneys with new ones at a subsidized value instead of the current scrap value offered.

Other groups present during the press conference include the Crispin B. Beltran Research Center and All-Workers Unity.

The Department of Finance reported that the program would cost PHP417 billion for the next five years, including the PHP8 billion subsidy for the purchase of PUVs and PHP3.9 billion for the Office of Transport Cooperatives.

Under the PUV Modernization Program, jeepney units that are 15 years old will be replaced with Euro 4 engines or electrically-powered engines with solar panels for roofs. These will also be equipped with closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, a GPS navigation system, an Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS), speed limiters, dashboard cameras, and Wi-Fi. (PNA)