Group to Stage Transport Strike Tomorrow

The Land Transportation Office-7 (LTO) will not stop imposing the huge fines against erring drivers despite the threat by a nationwide drivers and operators group to stage a transport strike tomorrow.

LTO-7 Regional Director Arnel Tancinco said they cannot stop apprehending erring drivers just because drivers who are against the new set of fines have threatened to hold a strike and cripple public transportation.

The LTO official was reacting to the announcement of Greg Perez, head of Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON)-Cebu, that their group will stage a transport strike tomorrow to protest LTO’s continued imposition of the big traffic fines stipulated under JAO 2014-01.

The transport groups deemed the JAO as “unjust and excessive”. The added that the Department of Transportation and Communications, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and the LTO approved the JAO for the imposition of a new set of fines.

Operators of ‘colorum’ vehicles or those without franchise but are being used for public transport are now fined up to P1 million, depending on the kind of penalty.

In particular, a P5,000 fine is imposed against drivers of vehicles caught with defective lighting equipment, particularly the headlights and tail lights.

Acting Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella had already instructed the head of City Hall’s transport services section to prepare its Kaohsiung and Yokohama buses so these could be immediately used once the transport strike would start affecting the riding public.

“Kon ako ang pasultion dili ko moingon nga migamit ta sa mao nga balaod aron daug-daugon ang mga drayber ug operator. Pila ra man ang kantidad anang suga? Barato ra kaayo ang bombilya kon ilang paliton,” Tancinco said.

It has been observed that several drivers of passenger jeepneys fail to attend to the defective lights of their vehicles. Some of them intentionally do not switch on their headlights while running in roads at night.

Tancinco said those drivers who intentionally do not switch on their headlights and tail lights can be apprehended for reckless driving because they are risking the lives of passengers and are inviting accidents.

He also said PISTON officials did not participate in past dialogues with transport group leaders after the implementation of the controversial order last June 19, opting to just air their sentiments with the media.

A driver, when asked by MetroCebuNews why some of his colleagues opted not turn on their headlights and tail lights, reasoned that doing so allegedly makes the unit harder to drive and passengers complain that because of the glare they could not see the PUJ signboard.

But for senior citizen Florenda Abelgas, the campaign against motorists who do not switch on their headlights while driving at night, is a welcome development.

She said there was a time that she was almost hit by a PUJ because its headlights were not switch on and she did not immediately see it.