Heads up, commuters: The Manibela transport group plans to carry out a transport strike from August 14 to 16 in response to President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s support of the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.
Marcos announced on Wednesday that the government has decided to move forward with the PUV modernization program despite the Senate's recommendation to put it on hold until all the concerns of jeepney drivers and operators are adequately addressed. He also mentioned that many public vehicles have been consolidated.
The first step in the PUV modernization program is consolidating individual PUV franchises into cooperatives or corporations. According to the Department of Transportation, 81.11% of PUV units had been consolidated as of May.
In response, Manibela announced it would stage another transport strike next week to protest the president's decision.
Manibela, along with PISTON, is one of the transport groups currently challenging the constitutionality of the modernization program in a case before the Supreme Court. However, despite persistent pleas, the high court did not issue any order to stop the program's implementation.
Modern jeepney units cost over PhP2 million, which LandBank and the Development Bank of the Philippines have deemed excessively high for PUV drivers and operators.
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