Yesterday’s transport strike to protest oil price hikes reversed organizers’ prediction of total transport paralysis, going pffft!! in the first hours after it was raised at midnight.
The Land Transportation Office assessing the traffic situation said 80 percent of public transport plied the streets by mid-morning, contrary to earlier claims by militant organizers that 98 % of drivers would support the protest action.
LTO regional director Gomer Dy, interviewed by media at midday, said: Our field monitors said at 9:00 a.m. eighty percent of public transport was already in the streets.
In the early morning hours, the strike appeared to gain steam with “persuasion points” manned by strikers visible at entry points urging drivers to stop plying routes. By sunrise, however, the number of public utility vehicles increased to normal volume.
By eight o’clock, the Bankerohan Bridge I, the city’s main road artery to the south, returned to its clogged state, a scene that irritated commuters after the old Bankerohan Bridge II collapsed early this year.
In Davao del Norte, drivers refused to join the strike even as persuasion points were set up in Panabo City and Tagum City. The scene was repeated in Davao del Sur, with number of buses plying the Davao City-Cotabato routes maintaining its normal frequency.
The Philippine National Police in the region said traffic and peace and order situations throughout the region were at normal levels.
Most schools yesterday opened for classes, even as administrators noted low attendance. The Department of Education earlier said it would leave to administrators the decision to suspend classes or not.
The Network of Transport Organizations (NETO), spearheading the nationwide strike, however claimed 95 percent of drivers shunned the routes.
The strike here was led by Transmission, the Mindanao-wide organization of public transport drivers.
Filed under: Tranpost strike | Tagged: oil price hikes, Transport strike
