Malacañang on Thursday expressed dismay over the planned transport strike of the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (Piston) even after it had participated in what Palace officials believed to be a fruitful dialogue with President Aquino.

In a news briefing, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda took exception to the statement of Piston secretary-general George San Mateo that the Wednesday meeting of various transport groups with Mr. Aquino was nothing more than a “courtesy call” as no concrete resolutions were made to address their concerns.

“Apparently they went to the meeting without an open mind. Their minds were closed. So let me ask the members of Piston. Whose interest is your leadership serving? Is it yours or their own?” Lacierda said.

Asked whether other groups are likely to join the planned strike, Lacierda said Malacañang could only “hope that yesterday’s dialogue with them convinced them of the sincerity of the government toward addressing their concerns.”

“We hope that even among the members of Piston, they will see through what the government is doing—the sincerity of this government to address their concerns—and hopefully decide not to pursue individually their planned strike by Piston,” he said.

He noted that the dialogue with the President was very productive, since Mr. Aquino “directly addressed the concerns of various groups representing the whole spectrum of public transport.”

Lacierda said San Mateo, in particular, was given more than enough time to speak during the nearly three-hour dialogue attended by 17 representatives of public-transport groups, and also submitted his proposal for a review of the Downstream Oil Deregulation Law to the President, which the latter ordered to be studied.

“He knows that we are studying the documents that he has submitted to us, and then he is going to push through with the strike,” Lacierda said, adding that San Mateo sported a “wide smile” during the dialogue, only to announce that his group will stage a strike afterward.

Lacierda reiterated the President’s reminder to the transport groups that as holders of public franchise, “they should be responsible for [their] actions.”

“There are consequences. You are responsible—you have rights and obligations in that franchise that you hold.… If they violate their franchise, we will take appropriate action.… This government means business. We want the franchise holders to be responsible in upholding their certificates of public convenience,” he said.

Lacierda added that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority “is prepared to handle the situation” in the event of a transport strike. M. Gonzalez

“We have coordinated with them as well so in case the transport strike pushes through, the government is ready for the sole purpose of making sure that the riding public will not be jeopardized,” he said.