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THE
Metro Manila will go on full alert on Monday in
anticipation of the transport strike led by a militant
group.
Chief
Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, Philippine National Police
(PNP) spokesman, said that the 15,000-strong Metro
Manila police is ready for Monday’s transport holiday to
ensure peace and order.
In other
parts of the country, Bartolome said, police regional
offices will be on normal alert, but will maintain
readiness to provide assistance to commuters affected by
the transport holiday.
Director
General Avelino Razon Jr., PNP, earlier expressed his
appreciation for the decision of other transport
organizations not to join Monday’s strike.
“I
really appreciate the responsiveness of the other
transport groups to the situation, particularly their
responsibility to provide mass transportation services
to the people. Indeed, there are more effective and
long-term solutions to the problem of the transport
sector, and we support all these win-win initiatives,”
Razon said.
The
National Police expects at least 12 transport routes
serviced by organizations affiliated to the Pinagkaisang
Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) to be
partially affected by the transport holiday tomorrow.
Police trucks, buses, troop carriers and tow trucks will
be fielded along these routes to ferry stranded
commuters, Razon said.
Bartolome said the National Police Directorate for
Operations ordered all units in Southern Mindanao,
Central Visayas, Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon,
Bicol,and Cordillera, to closely monitor the situation
in areas where Piston-affiliated transport organizations
are also expected to stage similar actions.
“The
National Headquarters gave regional directors the
authority to raise the alert conditions in their areas
of responsibility should it become necessary,” Bartolome
said.
The
National Police also assured there will be enough
personnel to maintain order and security along routes in
Metro Manila that will be affected by the transport
holiday.
Bartolome said units will conduct normal law enforcement
and public- safety operations and will be on the lookout
for possible unlawful actions such as street bonfires,
illegal barricades, coercion of nonparticipating
drivers, traffic obstruction and illegal public
assemblies.
Director
Geary Barias, Metro Manila police commander, said some
2,000 policemen will be deployed in key areas on Monday
in time for the transport strike.
“We will
go on alert at
8 p.m. Sunday. Then on Monday, we will deploy 2,000 personnel to
deal exclusively with the strikers,” Barias said.
He said
the police will be deployed particularly to key areas
including Cubao and Mabuhay Rotonda in
Quezon City; Marikina
City; Aduana Street in Manila; Taft Avenue in Pasay
City; and the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela area.
He does
not expect the strike to paralyze Metro Manila, saying
the last time Piston led a strike, only 30 percent of
transport operations were affected.
Meanwhile, the Armed Forces said it may divert its
trucks delivering National Food Authority rice to ferry
commuters who may be stranded by Monday’s transport
strike.
Capt.
Carlo Ferrer, National Capital Region Command spokesman,
said that while military forces in the metropolis will
only be on blue alert during the strike, they can go on
red alert if the need arises.
When red
alert is declared, all personnel are required to be in
their posts and all leaves and furloughs are canceled.
This
developed as militant transport groups, on the eve of
the strike, warned the police against harassing
strikers.
Piston
secretary-general George San Mateo said the group’s
members will use persuasion, not force, in urging
drivers to join the strike.
“As a
matter of principle Piston does not use force. We use
persuasion. We convince drivers to join us on the basis
of the merits of the issue,” San Mateo said.
He
admitted that Piston members and affiliates would talk
to drivers who will continue to ply their routes, but
insisted this was not an act of harassment.
He said
some policemen exploit the situation and arrest strikers
for supposed harassment.
“We just
explain the situation to other drivers. But when some
policemen see this, they immediately accuse us of
harassment,” he said.
Among
the transport groups that will not participate in the
strike are Isang United Transport Koalisyon (1-Utak),
Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association
of the Philippines (Fejodap) and the Alliance of
Concerned Transport Organizations (Acto).
San Mateo
said a two-day strike will be launched by
United Negros Drivers Center
(Undoc-Negros) in Negros Occidental, and in Panay, by
Piston-Panay and Hugpong Transport on May 12 and 13. The
group said a protest rally will also be held in Cebu.
In
Mindanao, Piston said its allied groups will stage
strikes in
Davao City,
General Santos City, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan City, Butuan
City and other areas. |
