Transport group Manibela began its two-week strike on Monday to protest against the December 31 deadline for the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV).

Manibela staged their protest at Monumento in Caloocan City, with police and Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) personnel manning the area to prevent the members from disrupting the flow of traffic.

The group was chanting to scrap the government’s modernization program would lead to the phasing out of traditional jeepneys.

Piston, which earlier announced it was joining the strike, said their group will not join the strike but will allow their local chapters to decide if they want to participate.

“For now, PISTON is not on strike,” Piston national president Mody Floranda told dzBB.

“We are letting the local associations decide whether or not they will join the rally but we are not calling on them to participate,” he added.

According to Floranda, several drivers who have joined cooperatives want to get out.

“Many drivers who have applied for cooperatives have approached me. One of the problems is that many want to get out of cooperatives. Many have proven that since they joined cooperatives, they lost their unit, their franchise, and their livelihood,” Floranda said.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said the strike was “peaceful” so far.

“As of 12 noon today, there are seven areas we monitored where there are still ongoing strikes. We have monitored around 385 persons joining the rally in the seven areas in NCR (National Capital Region,” Fajardo said at a press briefing.

“In other areas, particularly in the previous days, in Region 4-A and in Visayas, we have not yet received any reports but so far it is relatively peaceful. We have not recorded any major untoward incident and we hope that for their whole protest, we don’t encounter any major problems,” she added.

Fajardo said they will continue to deploy mobility assets until the end of the year since the transport strike will coincide with the holiday season.

President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said there will be no extension for the PUV consolidation since 70 percent of operators have already complied with this requirement. Jaspearl Tan/DMS