Fijoda: More drivers join Day 2 of prov'l PUJs strike
Public transport in the province of Iloilo remained crippled for the second straight day as jeepney drivers and operators continued their scheduled three-day strike against a city ordinance regulating the entry of provincial jeepneys in the city and against the soaring price of petroleum products.
Proseso Parreño, president of the Federation of Iloilo Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations (Fijoda), said around 97 percent of public jeepneys stayed off their routes crippling public transport in most of the province's 41 towns and one city.
Passenger terminals catering to the southern, central and northern routes in the outskirts of the city were almost empty and thousands of commuters including employees and students failed to go to the city.
The protesters are demanding changes in the Perimeter Boundary Ordinance which regulates the entry of provincial jeepneys in the city and the picking up of passengers in the city routes. They want longer routes and more areas to pick up passengers.
But city officials remained firm on the implementation of the PBO which was passed to regulate the volume of vehicles in the city and ease traffic congestion.
"It's their right to hold a strike. We are willing to sit down and talk but we cannot be held hostage," Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said in a telephone interview.
The strike had minimal impact on Iloilo City as jeepney drivers and operators' groups did not join the protest action.
Public transport remained normal in the city and offices, businesses and schools remained open but jeepney drivers complained that the volume of their passengers dropped by around 30 percent because of the strike.