Group says resisting transport modernization ‘a lost cause’

FILE: A man rushes to get on a public utility jeepney during a heavy downpour along Taft Avenue in Manila on Tuesday (Oct. 25, 2022). (PNA photo by Alfred Frias)

MANILA – The Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators ng Pilipinas (LTOP) steadfastly refused to take part in the ongoing strike organized by another transport group because continued resistance to the modernization of public utility vehicles (PUVs) is a lost cause.

In an interview on Friday, LTOP national president Orlando Marquez, Sr.

, said certain quarters within the transport sector have fought and delayed modernization initiatives launched by several administrations without offering an alternative to the long-obsolete and highly-polluting PUVs that still dominate the country’s roads.

He noted that other large transport organizations with nationwide memberships such as the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO), and Pasang Masda, have also avoided joining the protest action.

“Our group believes strongly that President (Ferdinand) Bong-Bong Marcos (Jr.) will not abandon the transport sector. The President has always supported us and won’t repay him by punishing the riding public.

In fact, it was during his father’s (Ferdinand E.

Marcos Sr.) time that the country saw the “Love Bus” and the LRT (light rail transit)… the transport sector is important to him,” Marquez said in Filipino.

LTOP was scheduled to put on exhibit an example of its proposed “modern jeepney” at the Malacañang Palace grounds in November, but the presentation was put off following an earlier protest action orchestrated by the same groups leading today’s transport strike.

In the past, Marquez stressed that his group and its affiliates have not hesitated to take part in protest actions, when they feel it is justified, but that is not the case today.

The ongoing transport strike is being led by Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) with the support of the Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (Manibela).

“We are friends with Piston’s leaders, and we have worked together in pursuit of other objectives before… such as preserving the outward appearance of the iconic jeepney. We also agree on the issue of Philippine National Standards Compliance. But we believe that transport strikes only serve to torture the riding public. Without our passengers, how can we make a living,” added Marquez.

LTOP’s leader said the transport sector ought to embrace modernization because they owe their passengers a safe, affordable and comfortable riding experience.

He estimated that only about 10 percent of PUVs were absent from their routes on Friday, and a transport paralysis in Metro Manila is unlikely.