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Mang Rodolfo, a jeepney driver for 20 years, prepares to ply his route on the Pasig-Taguig area on January 3, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Mang Rodolfo, a jeepney driver for 20 years, prepares to ply his route on the Pasig-Taguig area on January 3, 2024. 

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<div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1712805772713jeepney-driver-04112024.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Mang Rodolfo, a jeepney driver for 20 years, prepares to ply his route on the Pasig-Taguig area on January 3, 2024. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Mang Rodolfo, a jeepney driver for 20 years, prepares to ply his route on the Pasig-Taguig area on January 3, 2024. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">MANILA <strong>(UPDATED)</strong> — Transport groups Manibela and PISTON on Thursday announced a transport strike that will start on Monday, April 15, to protest the looming deadline for the consolidation of franchises under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board have said the April 30 deadline to join transport cooperatives cannot be extended further.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Franchise consolidation is meant to lead the way to the eventual replacement of traditional jeepneys with newer minibuses.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Hindi namin afford yung sinasabi ninyong consolidation. Hindi namin afford yung sinasabi ninyong modern na minibus,” Manibela president Mar Valbuena said at a press conference.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(We cannot afford consolidation. We cannot afford these modern minibuses.)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DkTAbLbIsa8?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Some transport groups have opposed the program because of the cost of the units and of the requirements of registering and running a transport cooperative.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">They said the program will run single-unit operators off the road.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">He said that commuters still patronize the traditional jeepneys because they are convenient and the fares are affordable.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Yung mga nananawagan na i-modernize  itong mga traditional jeepney na matibay, maayos at gawang Pinoy… kayong mga nagre-reklamo, hindi naman kayo nagko-commute,” Valbuena said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(Those calling to modernize the traditional jeepneys that are well-made, run well and are locally made… Those who are complaining about jeepneys are not the ones who commute.)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><strong>SUPREME COURT PETITION STILL PENDING</strong></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">PISTON said that the deadline should be set aside while a petition against the PUVMP is pending at the Supreme Court. </p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">“Hindi pa natatapos ang mga serye ng hearing ng PUVMP sa Kamara at nakabinbin pa rin ang petisyon namin sa Korte Suprema laban dito pero minamadali na ng rehimen ang pang-aagaw ng hanapbuhay ng mga tsuper at maliliit na operator,” PISTON Deputy Secretary-General Ruben Baylon said in a press release.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal;min-height:15px"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">(The House hearings at the House on the PUVMP are not yet done and our petition is still pending at the Supreme Court but this regime is in a rush to take away the livelihoods of drivers and small operators.)</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Protests against the January 30 deadline for franchise consolidation prompted dialogues between transport groups and the government that led to the <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/24/24/marcos-approves-3-month-extension-for-puv-consolidation" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">extension of the deadline to April 30.</a></p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><strong>POE: WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SINCE JANUARY?</strong></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">In a statement issued before the transport groups&#x27; announcement of a strike, Sen. Grace Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said she wants to know what government has done in the three months that the consolidation deadline was pushed back.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">&quot;Have there been fruitful dialogues between the LTFRB and transport groups? Were there substantial efforts to reach out to the drivers and operators to help get them into the program?&quot;</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Poe added that the LTFRB should release a list of routes that will be served by jeepneys that have consolidated their franchises, and those where jeepneys will not be available.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">&quot;We can&#x27;t just leave our commuters scampering for rides, especially under this extreme heat,&quot; she said.</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><p style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal">Poe said she looks forward to a Supreme Court ruling on the petition filed by transport groups to &quot;enlighten concerned agencies on the path to take on the so-called modernization of our PUV fleets.&quot;</p><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><br/></div><div style="margin-bottom:0px;line-height:normal"><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="2929302"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><div><br/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board have said the April 30 deadline to join transport cooperatives cannot be extended further.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board have said the April 30 deadline to join transport cooperatives cannot be extended further.

Manibela, PISTON announce transport strike from April 15

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Manibela, PISTON announce transport strike from April 15

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Published Apr 11, 2024 11:23 AM PHT

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Updated Apr 11, 2024 12:09 PM PHT

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