Officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has described the transport strike initiated by group Manibela a failure in their attempt to paralyze the public transportation in Metro Manila and other areas.
In a report to DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, a monitoring team by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recorded a small number of drivers and operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) who joined the “tigil pasada.”
Meanwhile, Mar Valbuena, president of Manibela, insisted in an interview over DZBB that their group was able to paralyze around 70 percent of the public transport sector despite the deployment of “Libreng Sakay” vehicles by the different agencies of the government to assist stranded passengers.
Aside from this, Valbuena also claimed that the decision of several schools to adopt online classes to minimize the effect of the transport strike had a major effect on their protest.
“Based on the nationwide monitoring of the transport strike/rally staged by MANIBELA, it did not, in any way, disrupt public transportation service in the country,” according to the report of LTFRB.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said Manibela’s failed protest was due to the Magnificent 7, which decided not to join the protest.
“Manibela’s mobilization of small number of protester’s during Monday’s protest and the Magnificent 7’s ignoring such protest was a clear sign that the strike was a complete failure. This group only wants to create noise and panic with some schools suspending classes with this failed threat,” Bautista said.
The Magnificent 7 is composed of transport groups Pasang Masda, Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Altodap), Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (Piston), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap), Stop and Go, and Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators ng Pilipinas.
Valbuena earlier vowed to continue the transport strike until the government heeds to their demand to scrap the Public Transport Modernization Program and eradicate the massive corruption in several agencies, particularly the LTFRB.