|
THE
nationwide strike staged by drivers’ groups allied with
the Pinagkaisahang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operaytor
Nationwide (Piston) on Monday partially affected some
areas around the country, the National Police said.
Chief
Supt. Nicanor Bartolome, National Police spokesman, said
the transport strike staged by Piston members was only
felt in four regions, with Albay province in Bicol as
the most severely affected.
Except
in Metro Manila where striking drivers were reported to
have harassed fellow drivers who have not joined them,
the transport holiday was generally peaceful and
orderly, Bartolome said.
“Only
four regions reported some transport interruptions, and
only Region 5 [Bicol] and Region 11 [Southern Mindanao]
reported some paralysis in transport operations,”
Bartolome said in a press briefing.
He said
that in Camarines Sur, reports show that the strikers
managed to disrupt 30 percent of transport services,
while their colleagues in Albay were able to stop 80
percent of transport operations.
In Davao,
50 percent of the transport services were affected.
The
strike was slightly felt in Southern Tagalog, Western
Visayas and in Caraga Region.
“In
other regions, there were few reports of transport
strikes, but they were not felt by the riding public,”
Bartolome said.
“With
the outcome, it is safe to say that, generally, the
transport strike in the entire country is very peaceful
and orderly, but we will continue to monitor the
development until the end of the day.”
At the
height of the transport holiday, Bartolome said the
police in other regions in the country have maintained
normal alert status.
Meanwhile, Director Geary Barias, Metro Manila police
commander, said the strike was “not generally felt” in
the national capital although little disruptions were
reported in
Caloocan
City
and Navotas.
“There
have been some isolated cases of attacks with metal
spikes in Caloocan and some harassment also in Navotas,
but on the whole, these are all minor incidents,” he
said.
Barias
said the Libreng Sakay project that was prepared for
stranded passengers in Metro Manila was not even
implemented as there was no call for assistance from
commuters.
Piston,
however, said the strike was a “success,” with “at least
90 percent of the operations in Metro Manila and the
provinces stopped and affected.”
Piston
national president Steve Ranjo said the strike was not
the last, as the group vowed to stage more similar
protest actions in the next few days if the government
continues to ignore its call for the suspension of the
12-percent expanded value-added tax on petroleum
products and the scrapping of the oil deregulation law,
which it claimed as a decades-old burden on the
shoulders of the drivers and operators.
The
traffic situation in
Manila
was normal even at the height of the strike, Chief Supt.
Roberto Rosales, Manila Police District commander, said.
Rosales
said that no reports of harassment were filed in the
city. Rosales added that there were also no reports of
stranded passengers as police trucks, buses, troop
carriers and tow trucks were fielded to ferry commuters.
“We are
on the lookout for possible unlawful actions,” Rosales
said. “But, as of Monday afternoon, everything is stable
and normal.”
Several
Mindanao cities were hit by crippling strike by jeepney
drivers as more local government officials distanced
themselves from the national government, with some
calling for the return of oil regulation.
Strike
organizers claimed that Davao City was “96-percent
affected,” as transport organizations supported the
nationwide call to stay off the streets for one day.
Strikes were reported in the cities of Panabo and Tagum
in Davao del Norte, in Digos, Davao del Sur, and in
Kidapawan and General Santos, in North Cotabato.
There
were no violent incidents reported, except for some
burning of tires and discovery of some metal spikes in
Agdao, Davao City, at predawn Monday.
Davao
City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday said he sympathized
with the strikers and added that he joined the call for
a nationwide strike.
“I am
not a communist but it’s just that the government is not
doing enough to alleviate, or mitigate the situation,”
he said. (R. Acosta, J. Perez, TJ Agcaoili and M. Cayon) |
