Philippine transport groups yesterday launched a nationwide strike to protest a government program drivers fear would phase out traditional jeepneys, which have become a cultural icon, and other aging public transport vehicles.
However, officials braced with contingencies and deployed government vehicles to transport passengers stranded in some areas. Other groups refused to join the week-long strike that could keep more than 40,000 passenger jeepneys and vans off the streets in the Manila metropolis alone.
Protesting drivers and supporters held a noisy rally in suburban Quezon City in the capital region, then proceeded in a convoy to a government transport regulatory office to press their protest.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We’re calling on the public to support the transport strike in any way possible,” said Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the Bayan political alliance, which is backing the strike.
“The inconvenience of the transport stoppage is temporary, but the loss of livelihood of drivers and operators would be long-term,” Reyes said.
At almost noon, Philippine Secretary of Transportation Jaime Bautista said that no major transport disruption had been monitored.
Morning rush-hour traffic was heavy as usual in major roads in Manila and nearby cities.
“There is no disruption except in a handful of routes in the national capital region,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s office said by noon, citing reports from law enforcers.
Bautista said that protesting drivers who resort to violence and coercion to stop passenger vehicles not joining the strike would face criminal charges.
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, who also serves as education secretary, drew criticism after saying the strike is a communist rebel-inspired action that could inconvenience students.
The government transport modernization program, first launched in 2017, aims to replace dangerously dilapidated and old passenger jeepneys and vans with modern vehicles, which have safety features and conform with carbon emissions standards. Vehicle owners have to join transport cooperatives and corporations by the end of the year for better transport management.
Opponents say most poor drivers cannot afford to purchase new passenger jeepneys, even with promised government financial aid.
“It’s OK to have modernization for those who have money, but for us jeepney drivers and operators, we cannot afford,” jeepney driver Benito Garcia said.
Others said the program would mean the demise of the gaudily decorated and brightly colored jeepneys, which have been regarded as Manila’s “King of the Road” and a showcase of Philippine culture on wheels.
The diesel-powered jeepneys evolved from military jeeps that US forces left behind after World War II. The vehicles were modified and then reproduced, many with second-hand truck chassis, and for decades were the most popular form of land transport among the working class, even though they cough out dark fumes that have been blamed for Manila’s notoriously polluted air.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
A colossal explosion in the sky, unleashing energy hundreds of times greater than the Hiroshima bomb. A blinding flash nearly as bright as the sun. Shockwaves powerful enough to flatten everything for miles. It might sound apocalyptic, but a newly detected asteroid nearly the size of a football field now has a greater than 1 percent chance of colliding with Earth in about eight years. Such an impact has the potential for city-level devastation, depending on where it strikes. Scientists are not panicking yet, but they are watching closely. “At this point, it’s: ‘Let’s pay a lot of attention, let’s
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
RSS