MEMBERS of the public utility jeepney (PUJ) transport group Manibela started on Sept. 17 a three-day transport holiday to denounce alleged anomalies in the government’s flood control projects.
Traffic slowed on Commonwealth Avenue near Philcoa in Quezon City as the protesters assembled at dawn, with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) traffic enforcers and police teams sent to contain possible traffic disruptions.
On Sept. 15, Monday, Manibela President Mario Valbuena told The Manila Times that while PUJ drivers do everything they can to earn a peso, those involved in corruption simply “just rob them.”
Valbuena said they expect at least 100,000 drivers out of their 300,000 members nationwide to take part in the protest, which will last until Friday.
Parallel demonstrations were also held in some parts of the country, which the group described as part of a coordinated call for accountability.
Another transport alliance, Piston, announced it will hold its own strike on Thursday, echoing the call for accountability in government spending linked to flood control infrastructure anomalies.
Protesters said the government is fooling itself by demanding “receipts” or evidence of corruption, saying under-the-table deals leave no paper trail.
Manibela, meanwhile, staged an organized and peaceful demonstration, a point MMDA Chairman Romando Artes emphasized during a press briefing at the agency’s head office on Tuesday.
