Transport group Manibela is set to hold a nationwide protest caravan on Tuesday to oppose the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

In a statement posted on Facebook, Manibela said the rally on January 16 with their members, Piston and other people from the transport sector will begin at 9 am from Diliman.

They will proceed to Mendiola and the Supreme Court, where Manibela and other groups asked the High Tribunal to grant a temporary restraining order on the modernization program where at least 30,000 drivers will be affected.

The transport groups are asking the government to recognize the validity of their franchise will lasts five years.

“Not less than 15,000 people will march towards Mendiola. It will be held nationwide with those who were forced and with those who haven’t consolidated yet,” Manibela President Mar Valbuena said at a press briefing.

According to Valbuena, around 30,000 jeepney units in Metro Manila alone have not yet joined cooperatives.

By February 1, jeepneys which did not consolidate themselves to join a cooperative will not be allowed to ply their routes, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board said. The last day to do this was on December 31, 2023.

Valbuena said they are appealing to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr to listen to their plea as this will affect commuters.

He added that this will lead to not only the loss of jobs of operators and drivers but also a transport crisis that could affect commuters.

“We cannot blame the public if they think we just keep on protesting. But we can’t blame even more the drivers and operators whose families will go hungry once they lose their jobs,” Valbuena said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS