Manibela hits ‘deals’ to delay strike

Members of transport group Manibela stage a protest at Philcoa in Quezon City yesterday, marking the first day of their planned two-day transport strike.

Michael Varcas

MANILA, Philippines — Some transport leaders were offered “personal deals” to discourage them from joining the strike, transport group Manibela said yesterday.

Officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) asked leaders to defer participation in exchange for granting their requests, Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena said.

Declining to name officials and transport leaders, Valbuena said they are “catering to the demands of the leaders so that they alone can benefit.”

“In the coming days, we will not announce the transport strike’s schedule so other transport groups being courted by the DOTr and LTFRB will not be dragged into it,” he added.

Manibela is staging a two-day strike as pump prices are expected to rise this week, with diesel prices projected to increase by P2 to P2.50 per liter and gasoline by P4.50 to P5 per liter.

Valbuena stressed that the protest aims to urge the government to implement a fare hike of P2 as public utility vehicles (PUVs) will shoulder almost P100 per liter of petroleum. — Bella Cariaso, EJ Macababbad