Stop and Go coalition calls off jeepney strike

September 26, 2017

Stop and Go coalition transport leader Jun Magno said the second day of a two-day strike on Tuesday was cancelled due to requests from people.

"There are a lot. Actually in our messenger. It is full, asking for us to not continue . They are the one having a hard time... so we decided to call it off", Magno said in a radio interview with DZRH.

The Stop and Go coalition and Piston started the two-days strike on September 25 to protest against the jeepney modernization program of the government. Nothing was heard from Piston leader George San Mateo.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) board member Aileen Lizada said in a Viber message: "That's good so the riders will not have a hard time".

Lizada said on Monday the transport strike had a "very minimal" effect.

She said out of 10 million riders, only .3 percent were affected by the strike and the "rest of the passengers were able to take (PUJ) Public Utility Jeepney".

But Magno said their transport strike on Monday was "successful". "Yesterday, successful. We gave the message we wanted to say to our agency", he said.

Magno said the government will let the jeepney operators borrow P1.6 million and they will pay P800 each day.

"Our complaint is that they are not listening to the poor operators...Why do you need to put people in debt?", he said. Alanna Ambi/DMS