No commuter was left stranded when transport groups Manibela and Piston organized a two-day nationwide transport strike on Monday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said.
The transport groups are protesting the implementation of the government’s Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).
“Ikinagagalak ko pong sabihin sa inyo na sa ngayon po ay wala pong na-stranded na pasahero in all these spots na minu-monitor po namin,” LTFRB Board Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said in a Monday press briefing in Malacañang.
“Unang-una po, kakaunti lang po iyong mga sumama doon sa transport strike. Pangalawa, mayroon po kaming nakahandang Libreng Sakay. And then pangatlo po, nandoon po ang PNP to maintain peace and order… para sa mga operators na namimilit po na sumama iyong mga kasamahan nila sa strike. So as of this time ho, wala hong na-stranded ni isang pasahero,” he said.
According to Guadiz, the Inter-Agency Tigil Pasada, through the leadership of LTFRB, set up seven monitoring points to know the activities of the protesters, dispatching vehicles under Libreng Sakay, depending on the need.
Consolidated transportation groups, cooperatives and associations, are helping the government to transport commuters.
“But regarding your concern po, rest assured po na we will maximize and use properly iyong ating Libreng Sakay. At tama po kayo, hindi pa po tapos iyong araw but we see the flow of the half of the day that it will continue po hanggang mamayang hapon at hanggang bukas na rin po,” Guadiz said.
“They will only augment or papasok lang po sila kung may aktuwal or nakikita po kaming problema po doon. Kasi tandaan po natin, 83 percent po ng buong transportation sector ay sumama po sa programa, and that number po kung titingnan natin is enough po para matugunan iyong pangangailangan ng ating mga commuters,” he added.
The PTMP, one of the government’s flagship programs, seeks to revamp the country’s road transportation system by addressing vehicle safety and quality, route network efficiency, and fleet management. |PND
