By Raymond Carl Dela Cruz | Philippine News Agency
Fewer routes have been affected by the transport strike organized by the group Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (Manibela) on its second day, and remains to have no significant impact on public transportation operations.
In a statement on Wednesday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said affected routes on Tuesday went down to two from nine on Monday.
“The operations of public utility vehicles (PUV) and the flow of passengers are not significantly impacted by sightings of rallyists,” the LTFRB said.
Nationwide monitoring as of 2 p.m. Tuesday showed that there were no transport strikes in any parts of the country.
On Monday, the LTFRB and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority reported that the transport strike failed to paralyze public transportation in the National Capital Region, with free rides offered by national and local government agencies in affected routes.
Earlier, Manibela president Mar Valbuena said the strike was to protest the alleged corruption at the LTFRB and the Department of Transportation following the revelations of former LTFRB executive assistant Jeffrey Tumbado who later formally recanted his statements.
Valbuena said the strike is also to protest the government’s PUV modernization program that requires PUV operators to join or form cooperatives as well as replace traditional jeepneys and other PUVs with more environment-friendly alternatives by the end of 2023.
