President Aquino, meanwhile, warned yesterday that the government has all the right to revoke the franchises of bus operators who staged a transport strike timed with his arrival from Japan.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said the bus transport strike is “a recipe for anarchy.”

“In order to preclude a repetition of a massive transport strike that stranded thousands of commuters in Metro Manila and holding the government hostage in a social and economic sense, the appropriate agency of government must flex its muscle and impose the necessary sanctions against these bus companies that staged this transport strike,” Castelo said in a statement.

“This concerted move by bus companies or operators to stage the strike cannot be viewed in the context of a right by an individual or by a collective to show resistance, dissatisfaction or downright condemnation of a prevailing law, rules or regulations, especially given that the franchises of these bus companies are not a matter of right but a mere privilege,” he said in his resolution seeking an inquiry into the incident.

Castelo said Monday’s transport strike has far-reaching implications as it challenges a prevailing law.

“It resists a prevailing order of things, and it poses a threat to public interest and security and may, in fact, be the recipe for social unrest, anarchy, and chaos that may be taken advantage of by opportunistic or lawless sectors of society,” he said.

He added that the bus companies, being governed by regulations set by government, cannot just unilaterally undertake a course of action “grossly contrary to a prevailing social order, law, or that might even be detrimental not just to public interest but even to national security without the risk of being subjected to appropriate legal sanctions.

“If pushed to the wall, it is well within the power of the government to initiate a takeover of these public utilities when national interest so warrants since the state is expected to survive all kinds of threat to national life,” he said.

Franchises are a privilege, not a right

President Aquino, on the other hand, reminded bus operators that franchises are a privilege and not a right.

“And they did not do their responsibility. There is such thing as a show cause (order) that they have to pass through, then we will discipline those who erred,” Aquino said in Filipino, emphasizing that the same policy would apply to jeepney operators.

Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus justified the bus number coding scheme, saying it will significantly reduce the number of buses along EDSA, by as much as 20 percent (at least 700 buses) daily.

“A 20 percent reduction is not necessarily detrimental. It could be beneficial even to the operators,” he told Palace reporters in a briefing.

De Jesus, along with several Cabinet members, met with the President to discuss Monday’s transport strike.

“He considers this as a problem for all of us. It’s not just the bus operators, it’s not just the riding public, it’s all of us together and therefore, we should try to find a common solution together,” he added.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) will be discussing ways on how to resolve the issue.

They were tasked by Aquino to sit down with the “stakeholders of mostly bus operators, so that together we can discuss comprehensively the problem that has been worsening everyday, namely our traffic situation in Metro Manila.”

“If we reduce by 20 percent that means around 700 to 900 or 800 buses will be reduced on a daily basis and as the Secretary (De Jesus) had said, this would be a great help to ease traffic congestion in EDSA and it will also help prevent too much pollution,” LTFRB chairman Nelson Laluces said.

There are at least 3,500 to 3,700 bus units that are authorized to ply the EDSA route.

De Jesus, Laluces and MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino were likewise emphatic on penalties to the striking bus operators, who number around 100. They said an investigation is ongoing and violators will be penalized accordingly.

“Penalties range from suspension to outright cancellation of their franchises. Our procedure will be to give them a chance to explain their apparent participation in the so-called strike or tigil pasada and they would be heard,” said Laluces.

“There will be hearings that we will conduct in order to determine their participation. So as to the penalties, they can face outright cancellation,” the LTFRB chief added.

Tolentino, for his part, said the appropriate body that will impose sanctions on erring bus operators is the LTFRB.

“Due process would have to be followed and proper procedures would have to be complied with. We will then issue or impose the necessary sanctions on these operators. From suspension to cancellation (of their franchises),” warned Laluces.

Sotto: Revoke the franchises

At the Senate, Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III urged the LTFRB to revoke the franchises of all the bus operators that refuse to accept MMDA’s number coding scheme.

Sotto said the resistance coming from bus operators only makes it easier for the government to decide to take over operations of the buses.

“Revoke the franchises of all those who refuse to comply. What is the purpose of granting them a franchise if they do not want to follow the policies of the government,” he said.

Sotto also criticized some of the bus operators for saying that they did not stage a transport strike last Monday even when thousands of commuters were left stranded because of the absence of buses.

He pointed out that the operators were already issuing threats about staging a strike against the number coding scheme days before they decided to keep their buses off the road last Monday.

“They think they’re talking to idiots. We’re not stupid,” Sotto said, adding that he would file a resolution calling for the immediate revocation of the franchises of the erring bus operators.

Sotto has called for the takeover by the government of bus operations in order to ensure that the drivers have a monthly salary and consequently bring order to the major thoroughfares in Metro Manila.

He urged the MMDA to stay the course because it has the support of Congress and the public in general.

Paolo Romero, Philippine Star