SUPPORT THE NATIONWIDE JEEPNEY STRIKE! FIGHT FOR A PRO-PEOPLE JEEPNEY MODERNIZATION AND RESIST THE JEEPNEY PHASEOUT!
We, the Asia Pacific Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (APCHRP), express our fullest support to the ongoing nationwide jeepney strike headed by the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) to challenge the deadline of the Marcos Jr. government’s bogus PUV modernization program on December 31, 2023. Such a scheme will only lead to the destruction of the livelihood of at least 140,000 drivers and 60,000 operators and aggravate the transport crisis that will affect an estimated 28.5 million commuters.
Right to livelihood. The strike asserts the right to a dignified life by drivers and operators who have spent decades servicing the streets and connecting people and places. If their jeepney franchise is not renewed, the drivers and operators will suffer from further hunger, poverty, and lack of opportunities to sustain themselves and their families. With new ‘modern’ jeeps, sold by foreign companies like Toyota and local businessmen like Manny Pangilinan, costing around P2-million, the poor drivers and operators will be forced to live paying loans and interests while taking home only a meager sum insufficient for basic necessities.
Right to organization. The right to free association is a constitutionally-guaranteed right. By requiring membership to transport “cooperatives” in order to acquire franchises, the government is holding jeepney drivers and operators hostage to their bogus franchise consolidation program. By removing the basic means of their survival, drivers and operators are being coerced to support the phaseout. In our history, jeepney associations have ensured collective struggles against various issues and their right to organize should be respected by the state.
Right to public transportation. Aside from drivers and operators, commuters will also be affected by the phaseout. The scarcity of jeepneys will also be affected by soaring fuel prices and maintenance parts which will be passed on to commuters. Once ‘modern’ jeepneys dominate the streets, it is expected that minimum fares will rise to around P40-P50 per ride which is heavy for many minimum wage earners and students. The phaseout will also worsen the heavy traffic in urban centers as the high demand for public transportation is not matched with the low supply of jeepneys available. The government’s failure to invest in a systematic and commuter-friendly public transportation will certainly make both transport workers and commuters suffer.
Right to development. The drivers, operators, and commuters on strike have expressed their support for jeepney modernization, as long as it favors them and not big businesses who are expected to profit from the bogus phaseout. The people have the right to a development that is centered on providing their needs such as livelihood, public transport, and clean environment. Marcos Jr.’s government should make these the pillars of a jeepney modernization under his administration. If these basic conditions are not met, the state’s jeepney phaseout program is only heading towards further harm than good. The unity for modernization is an impetus for the government to fund a people-centered development—build national industries for transport vehicles, raise wages of transport workers and subsidies to operators, and adopt more pro-people urban planning and environmental policies.
As we outline the rights that are trampled upon by the Marcos-Duterte jeepney phaseout, we call on all stakeholders to support the nationwide strike of the transport sector until December 29 by all means necessary to pressure the government to heed our calls. Let us all express our solidarity to jeepney drivers, operators, and commuters and drive our campaign for a pro-people jeepney modernization in all avenues. To paraphrase a famous quote, the strike is a vehicle of the oppressed, of people capable of appreciating justice, towards the victory of their objectives.
For Reference: Sr. Patricia Fox, APCHRP Spokesperson
#NoToJeepneyPhaseout
