Jeepney strikes are senseless

By Ermin Garcia Jr.

The jeepney drivers’ groups that are prone to call a strike to protest everything that puts pressure on their earnings should know that they are way off their targets, and only the drivers and operators end up the losers – losing a day’s earnings.

A jeepney or tricycle strike, as we see it today, never hurts the government agency they perceive to be making the drivers’ lives miserable. At most, they inconvenience the riding public from whom they earn their keep, who by the way includes members of their own families. So on top of losing a day’s keep, a jeepney strike is a double whammy against the drivers’ own personal interests.

And what of their target agencies? The officials and their subalterns collect their salaries, drive around in their SUVs and enjoy their perks for the day.

So why bother staging a strike, keeping off the roads?

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It’s time the jeepney drivers and operators start thinking out of the box to effectively achieve their goals.

To my mind, their franchises to ply the streets remain their own best weapon to counter all perceived abuses and unfair policies. If they feel aggrieved, they should stay on the road, service the public but with one difference – they plaster their vehicles with posters and placards with messages that expose anomalies and abuses in the agencies, and hit them where it will hurt – politics.

Yes, politics. It must be remembered that ultimately, it’s the politicians that dictate the laws and policies and how they should be enforced, not the bureaucrats and technocrats who man the agencies. Remember that the chief of any agency, not being an elected official, does not have any real constituency to serve except to serve at the pleasure of the appointing power by enforcing laws and implementing rules and policies. They are there to do as the politicians bid them.

Hence, the striking groups mislead their members when they think they can get ahead with their agenda by pouncing on the DOTC or the Land Transportation Office officials with a strike. Hello, these officials couldn’t really care less if hundreds stay off the streets.

But what could make them shudder at the thought of a protest or strike is when the object of the protest is the abuses being committed by their offices. That’s where the real target lies, and where a protest action will most likely score points.

A jeepney drivers-operators’ strike today achieves nothing but hurt themselves.

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The object of the “nationwide” jeepney strike last week – the increase in the rates of penalties for offenses on the road – was pitifully off-tangent.

The angry jeepney drivers and operators seemed to have overlooked the fact that the riding public supports policies that make their travel safe and secure, meaning riding vehicles driven and maintained by responsible drivers-owners-operators. In this case, the jeepney drivers clearly don’t have public support notwithstanding the strikers’ claim that they are standing up for all motorists.

Note: A rate or penalty deemed reasonable by an offender implies that the law is not good enough to compel a high level of compliance. But when the strikers allege that the new rates are unreasonable, you can be sure that the penalties must be good for the riding public.

The riding public, without a doubt, supports a P1,500 fine for driving without a license, P5,000-P7,000 fines for driving under the influence of liquor; P10,000 for driving under the influence of drugs; P2,000 for possession of fake license or vehicle registration; P2,000 for use of expired commemorative plates; P10,000 for illegal transfer of plates, stickers; P500 for defective brakes; P300 for driving a vehicle without head and brake lights, etc. Frankly, I wish a law would be passed soon adding detention or imprisonment as penalty for offenders caught driving under the influence of liquor and drugs, particularly in road accidents.

But what appeared to be the strikers’ secondary caveat – its’ a source of corruption for enforcement agencies – was watered down when that should have been the main target of a protest move, not necessarily a strike.

With that in mind, what the jeepney groups should have done was to strengthen their resolve to expose the crooks in those agencies and among the cops. Consider a protest action where the jeepneys ply their routes with posters plastered on their sides that read: “Bilang na ang araw ng mga kotongero na pulis“, “Isumbong ang mga tulisan sa LTO”, “Patalsikin si _____ ng LTO Flying Squad”, etc.

If, however, a new policy requires a 100% increase in their franchise fees, or require stickers that cost P500, the jeepneys should target the politicians. Get those posters out that read: “Bilang na ang araw mo sa amin, Mayor Buwaya, Cong. Tsonggo “Hwag ng iboto si Mayor Ganid, si Councilor Gunggong,” “Hindi makatao si Pangulo”, “Corrupt si DOTC Sec.”

To back these, the jeepney operators’ and drivers’ groups should seriously organize politically and create vigilant units to detect and report the corrupt and the hoodlums among the enforcement agents.

A strong protest move that does not inconvenience the public wins the latter’s critical support, and still achieves the goal of putting pressure where it counts. A strike is senseless and unproductive for the jeepney operator and driver.

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IS DAGUPAN PNP A GAMBLING PROTECTOR? Just a stone’s throw away from the city’s police outpost in the east junction is the old Pantranco station where several ameneng (video-karera) machines operate night and day! And a stone’s throw from the Mayombo police outpost was the mini-carnival where nightly gambling was tolerated for a long time.

Who’s on the take at the police station? The city council should unmask the misfits, particularly if it goes all the way up!

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