2 Bacolod City transport groups not joining strike

March 8, 2022 by No Comments

TWO other transport groups in Bacolod City will not join the planned five-day transport strike being planned by the United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (Undoc) tentatively by the end of March 2022.This was the result of the meeting conducted by Councilor Dindo Ramos, chairperson of the City Council committee on transportation, and the officials of Sentrong Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Negros (Sstone) and Federation of Bacolod Drivers Association (Febacda) on Monday, March 7.Ramos said the transport groups decided not to join the strike as it will affect the drivers and operators.Undoc officials did not join the meeting, he added.Ramos said transport groups should seek the assistance of their party-list representatives to deliver privilege speech in Congress regarding the transport modernization program, which is among the issues being protested by Undoc.”If they hold a rally here, their demands will not be heard by the national government,” the councilor said, adding that the transport representatives in Congress should be the ones addressing the concern.Undoc Secretary-General Diego Malacad earlier said they will hold a unity forum to discuss with the stakeholders as to the validity of their planned five-day transport strike.He said he will also talk with the local government of Bacolod to recall its endorsement over the transport modernization program.The City Government earlier submitted its endorsement of the Local Public Transportation Route Plan (LPTRP) to the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB).Undoc is pushing for the non-implementation of the 12-percent value-added tax and suspension of the excise tax on fuel.Aside from the City Government, the group is also calling on the provincial government to recall its endorsement of the transport modernization program.Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has expressed concern over the possible effect of the impending strike, especially for the provincial governmentl employees.Lacson said they have not sat down with other officials from the provincial government regarding the matter, but they are already eyeing some options to lessen its impact on the Capitol’s operations.”Maybe we have to do some carpooling so that they can still go to work,” the governor said.