Business as usual in Capitol and City Hall despite strike
Transport groups in three provinces on Panay Island seek to paralyze public transport for two days starting today to dramatize their protest against repeated oil price increases.
Jeepney and tricycle drivers in Iloilo and Aklan will stop plying their routes starting midnight today until midnight Friday while transport groups in Capiz will hold their one-day strike starting midnight Thursday.
Edgar Salarda, president of the Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston-Iloilo), said 22 jeepney operators and drivers associations under the Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Associations will join the strike.
Transport associations plying routes between the city and towns of Iloilo will also join the protest action.
Salarda said public jeepneys, vans and tricycles will also stop plying their routes on the island-province of Guimaras.
The transport groups are calling for the repeal of Republic Act 8479 or the Oil Deregulation Law which they blame for the continued increase of oil prices. They also called for the removal of the value added tax pegged levied on petroleum products.
Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas Sr. yesterday called several provincial government department heads for an emergency meeting to lay down contingency measures during the two-day strike.
Tupas said it will be business as usual at the Iloilo provincial government as dumptrucks will be deployed to fetch employees.
The employees will be picked up from 7 to 9 a.m. at the public plazas of Jaro, Molo, Mandurriao, Arevalo and La Paz districts. They will also be transported back to the various terminals at 4 p.m.
Iloilo Provincial Police Office (IPPO) director Senior Supt. Ricardo Dela Paz said they will be on full alert to maintain peace and order in the entire province.
Dela Paz said they will deploy police personnel on the highway to secure drivers of public utility vehicles who will not join the strike.
Tupas said while they respect the decision of the transport groups to strike those drivers who would continue to operate should also be respected.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas downplayed the strike, saying he did not expect public transport in the city to be crippled because some transport groups announced that they will join the protest action. (See related story)
But he said government vehicles will be on stand by to ferry passengers that would be stranded.
He said the economy will also be affected because the transport of groups and consumers from the province to the city will be affected.