By Glazyl Y. Masculino
BACOLOD City – The Bacolod Alliance for Commuters Operators and Drivers (Bacod) has decided to hold a protest here on December 15 instead of joining the nationwide transport strike yesterday.
Bacod president Rudy Catedral said via Aksyon Radyo Bacolod that this decision came after a meeting with some transport groups here last Tuesday.
Catedral said that based on their assessment if the transport strike pushed through here, some groups could not have joined their cause against the deadline set by the government to phase out traditional jeepneys.
“I-organize ta gid dapat maayo para tanan makaintra (We will organize this well so that everyone can join),” Catedral said, as he also asked for the support of the commuters to help them in their fight.
“Sa aton publiko, indi namon makaya na magagmay na drivers and operators ang ini na problema na gina atubang naton subong. Bululigan ta ini tanan (To the public, we small drivers and operators cannot tackle this problem. Let’s help each other)”, Catedral said.
Based on Memorandum Circular (MC) 2023-17 of the LTFRB, all traditional jeepneys are allowed to operate by virtue of an extended provisional authority until December 31.
Catedral said that once the franchises are consolidated, the transport industry will enter the modernization program in less than a year.
“Kung modernization na ta, makaluluoy na kamo na commuters, indi lang kami na mga drivers and operators (The commuters, not just drives and operators, will be affected by modernization),” he added.
He encouraged the public to initiate a signature campaign to show the national government that transport groups in Bacolod and Negros Occidental are not yet ready for the modernization program.
Catedral said that they will hold a protest on December 14 at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-6, and another protest at the Fountain of Justice here on December 15.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday that he will not extend the December 31 deadline for the consolidation of public utility vehicles(PUV) operators, following a meeting with transport officials.
In a statement, Marcos said that 70 percent of all operators “have already committed to and consolidated” under the PUV Modernization Program.
He said the government cannot allow further delays in its implementation, as these affect the majority of the PUV operators, banks, financial institutions and the public.
“Adhering to the current timeline ensures that everyone can reap the benefits of the full operationalization of our modernized public transport system. Hence, the scheduled timeline will not be moved,” the President said.
For his part, Catedral said that the President’s statement hurt them.
“Medyo sakit kag bug-at pagabatunon ang ina na pahayag (That statement is hard and painful to accept),” he said, as he maintained that they will not stop their protest action since the government has still a lot to do.
“Sige-sige pag-away naton kag although naghatag na deadline pero kami ya indi mag-untat (Our struggle continues and although the deadline has been set, we will not stop),” he said.
