City prepared for transport strike
The city government is prepared for the two-day transport strike called by transport groups under the Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston-Iloilo) and the Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Associations (Icada).
City Mayor Jerry Treñas even downplayed the strike saying he has received information that public utility jeepneys belonging to the city loop will not join the protest action.
He said most drivers organizations in the city are not aligned with the Icada but with the newly-formed Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (Icajoda) which did not intend to join the transport strike.
Treñas said transactions at the different offices of the city government will be business as usual. Dump trucks would be deployed in the different plazas to pick up the passengers including the employees and bring them to their destinations. The deployment of dump trucks is only one of the contingency measures employed by the city in the event there would be lack of vehicles to accommodate the commuters.
Treñas also assured the safety of drivers who will not join the strike. He said police personnel will be deployed on the streets to give them protection.
Aside from the continued increases in the prices of gasoline and other petroleum products, Icada is also protesting the traffic experimentation being implemented in the city.