Transport strike fails to disrupt services in Philippines

Agencies/Manila

Protesters in a convoy of jeepneys go through a main road in a symbolic protest against rising oil prices in Quezon City yesterday

Transportation services in Manila were unaffected by the protest led by transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston), officials said yesterday.Operations of jeepneys in some provinces, such as Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao and Angeles City in Northern Luzon, were partially disrupted as some groups scattered metal spikes on roads to discourage vehicles from plying.“The regional directors in those areas will conduct their own investigations and they will recommend to us whether we should cancel the franchises of those involved in this,” an official from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said.“We still do not know if it were Piston members responsible for scattering these spikes,” he said adding the culprits could only be members of the protesting groups, the motive being to force other transport operators and drivers to join them.Davao City mayor Sara Duterte has already ordered local police to arrest protesters who were scattering spikes and burning tires during the protest action.In Metro Manila, however, less than a hundred jeepneys and other public transport vehicles participated in the protest caravan, which called for an end to the unabated rise in the price of fuel.“The board will have to deliberate on this, but the situation has been normal in Metro Manila and no routes were affected by the caravan,” he said.Several transport groups opted not to participate in the protest. Jeepneys drivers in Cebu, Dipolog, Leyte and Pangasinan carried on with their daily operations as well.However, reports said several passengers in Cagayan de Oro and Butuan had to walk going to their destination because of the lack of public vehicles in their area.