The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has announced that it is ready for the seven-day transport strike that will start on Monday, March 6. The agency has placed contingency measures to ensure that the commuting public will not be inconvenienced and transportation operations will not be paralyzed during the week-long transport strike.
The strike has been called by the transport group Manibela to protest against the government’s Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernization Program.
MMDA Acting Chairman Atty. Don Artes said that the agency will dispatch Libreng Sakay vehicles offering free rides to commuters that will be affected during the duration of the transport strike. A total of 25 vehicles are ready to be deployed, including 4 air-conditioned buses, 2 non-air-conditioned buses, and 13 commuter vans. These Libreng Sakay vehicles can carry around 1,200 passengers per trip.
MMDA General Manager Usec. Procopio Lipana, who is also the head of the inter-agency secretariat, warned motorists against taking advantage of the situation in the next few days.
The MMDA is set to deploy more than 2,000 personnel to monitor situations on the ground who are tasked to give immediate feedback and reports as to areas where there are stranded commuters. Department of National Defense Assistant Secretary Henry Robinson said that the DND is ready to deploy their vehicles to the inter-agency task force.
Other agencies who expressed their readiness for the transport strike are the Department of Interior and Local Government, which will determine the situation at the local government units, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which is in talks with bus companies in case there’s a need for augmentation, and the Office of the Executive Secretary, which will provide other government offices with employee shuttle services that will likewise give free rides to affected commuters.
Some Metro Manila LGUs will also offer Libreng Sakay in their areas in view of the transport strike.
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The agency is still assessing whether there is a need to suspend the expanded number coding scheme during the said week as the inter-agency task force has yet to determine the affected routes and weigh the possible effects of the strike.
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Image: MMDA Facebook
