Jeepney drivers held a protest rally in Pasig City yesterday to demonstrate their support to the three-day transport strike on Monday.
The strike is in response to the government’s refusal to remove the franchise consolidation component of the PUV modernization program.
The protesters said this will only lead to the monopoly of a few big fleet managers or corporations.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board appealed to the transport group PISTON to call off its planned three-day transport strike.
LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said he reached out to PISTON national president Mody Floranda in a bid to come up with a compromise.
Floranda, however, said PISTON would only to cancel the strike if the government heeds its demands, including scrapping the consolidation requirement.
The LTFRB said franchise consolidation would make it easier for jeepney drivers and operators to comply with the modernization program.
Guadiz also assured commuters that public transportation would still be available even if the transport strike pushes through.