Several transport groups not joining week-long nationwide strike — Palace

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 5) — The week-long transport strike against the government’s PUV phaseout program will not include several transport groups across the country, Malacañang said Sunday.

Transport group Manibela previously announced that the nationwide strike will push through from March 6 to 12 regardless of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board's (LTFRB) move to extend the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUVs) until the end of the year. 

In a press release, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said 11 jeepney and UV Express groups in Metro Manila have expressed opposition to the strike, namely: the National Federation of Transport Cooperatives (NFTC), Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO), Pasang Masda (PM), Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Stop and Go Coalition, Senate Employees Transport Service Cooperative (SETSCO), UV Express National Alliance of the Philippines (UV Express), and ACTO NA CORP.

The groups claimed the strike will only affect passengers, according to the LTFRB-National Capital Region. 

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The PCO said seven groups in Valenzuela City vowed to ply their routes during the seven-day strike, citing report from Mayor Wes Gatchalian.

These groups, according to Malacañang, include the Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (JODA), NOVADECI Transport Cooperative, Novaliches Malinta Jeepney Transport Cooperative (NMJTC), Malabon Jeepney Transport Cooperative (MAJETSCO), Blumentritt Transport Service Cooperative (BTSC), Metro Valenzuela Transport Cooperative (MVTC), Valenzuela Bignay Meycauayan Transport Cooperative, and the KARTUJODA Transport Cooperative.

The Northern Mindanao Federation of Transport Service Cooperative (NOMFEDTRASCO), a group consisting of around 50 transport cooperatives from five provinces in the region, according to the PCO, also opposed the call for the transport strike.

The Federation of Land Transportation of Zamboanga (Feltranz), which Malacanang referred to as "one of the largest unified jeepney organizations in Zamboanga City," is also choosing not to participate in the strike over concerns of not earning enough money to support their families, the Palace said.

The Iloilo City Alliance of Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC) in Western Visayas claimed that enough time had been granted for transport organizations and owners of PUVs to consolidate their units and form a cooperative.

TIMELINE: The government’s PUV phaseout program