Transport groups Manibela and Piston on Tuesday held a protest caravan against the consolidation requirement under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) but they claim their march from Quezon City to Manila was blocked by police.

The protest caravan began in the University of the Philippines in Diliman and would head to Mendiola. Police said around 500 members and 151 PUVs participated in the protest caravan since 1 pm.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Manibela President Mar Valbuena said that their protest was delayed because some members were blocked by the police.

“We don’t know why there are checkpoints and they were held for two hours,” Valbuena said.

He said the jeepney drivers and operators that were allegedly blocked were from the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, and Laguna.

Valbuena said there were four police trucks at Espana Boulevard in Manila which he described as “overkill”. The Philippine National Police (PNP) denied this

In a press conference, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the supposed blocking in those areas were meant to help the Land Transportation Office (LTO) apprehend vehicles which were unregistered.

She added that the apprehended vehicles were unable to provide documents the LTO had asked and those who did not have special permits decided to turn back so they would not be issued tickets.

“They were not blocked. Like I said, this a normal deployment of the PNP, the random checkpoints, the police visibility,” Fajardo told reporters.

She said around 5,000 PNP personnel and 175 mobility assets were deployed to help commmuters affected by the protest caravan. Jaspearl Tan/DMS