Transport group PISTON said no amount of red-tagging from the administration will address the transport woes associated with the PUV Modernization Program. The group decried Vice-President Sara Duterte’s remarks calling the upcoming transport strike “communist-inspired” and an interference to education.
PISTON national president Mody Floranda said “Iniiwasan ni Inday Sara at ng buong administrasyong Marcos na pakinggan at pag-usapan kung paano ba tutugon sa hinaing ng mga tsuper at komyuter. Ginawa niyang panangga ang red-tagginga at iyung biglaang concern para sa edukasyon natin. Mabuti pa turuan ang mga kabataan kung anong halaga ng isang public utility na binabalewala ng gobyerno.”
PISTON reiterated that the strike is intended to draw attention to the plight of drivers, operators and commuters. They demanded an end to the current “anti-poor and anti-people” modernization scheme which will triple basic fares and rid hundreds of thousands of people of their livelihood.
The transport leader reminded Duterte that the Philippines was one of the worst-performing countries during the pandemic and that includes how it handled the return to classrooms. They said the education sector is in trouble because of faulty management and constant neglect from officials.
“Kasalanan ba namin kung Pilipinas ang isa sa mga pinakahuling nagbalik sa klase? Hindi kami ang sanhi ng interference sa pag-aaral ng mga bata. Palpak ang pamamalakd mo sa DepEd. Mabuti pa gamitin mo itong susunod na linggo para mag muni-muni sa mga solusyon para sa classroom shortage at historical distortions sa curriculum natin,” chided Floranda.
The group noted that Duterte’s statements are clearly intended to discredit the strike, vilify its supporters and turn the public’s attention away from the core issues at hand.
“Inaanyayahan namin ang buong publiko, mga kapwa drayber, operator, estudyante at iba pa na sumuporta sa transport strike. Kabuhayan at kinabukasan ng bayan ang nakataya, at hindi dapat binabaling pa ni Inday Sara sa paninira ang atensyon ng tao,” said Floranda.