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Gov’t ready for 3-day transport strike next week
INTER-AGENCY MEET. Members of the Inter-Agency Task Force Monitoring Team meet at the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority office in Pasig City on Tuesday (July 18, 2023). The government task force has readied contingency measures to ensure that the planned three-day transport strike from July 24 to 26 would not inconvenience commuters. (Photo: MMDA/Facebook)
Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevarra and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chair Don Artes led the meeting of the Inter-Agency Task Force Monitoring Team (IATF-MT) on Tuesday.
Guevarra requested local government units (LGUs) to cooperate with the single dispatching system of the MMDA to send out rescue vehicles to ferry passengers during the transport strike, which coincides with the second State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on July 24.
He noted that similar efforts were successful during the previous transport strike.
“During the last transport strike, we were able to monitor through the CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras the convergence of rallyists, and can easily call the PNP (Philippine National Police) to maintain peace and order,” he said.
The newly inaugurated MMDA Communications and Command Center in Pasig City would be used to monitor the situation throughout the National Capital Region and maintain peace and order in affected routes.
“We were able to address the needs of the riding public before because of the united efforts of the government with agencies and 17 Metro Manila local government units,” he said.
During the meeting, national and local government agencies offered the use of their rescue units or vehicles to assist commuters in case of passenger build-up.
The MMDA has prepared an inventory of such assets to be used for decision-making and the quick dispatch of vehicles during the strike.
Earlier, transport group Manibela bared its plan to hold a three-day transport strike beginning Monday.
Manibela chair Mar Valbuena said the strike was due to the government’s failure to address various concerns of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators and alleged preferential treatment towards corporations or LGUs in awarding PUV routes.
