Nagpahayag muli ng pagtutol si Department of Education Secretary at Vice President Sara Duterte sa transport strike na una na niyang tinawag na “communist-inspired” dahil hindi umano nito isinaalang-alang ang kalagayan ng mga mag-aaral at guro.
Sa kaniyang pahayag nitong Lunes, Marso 6, sinagot ni Duterte ang pahayag ng Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston) at Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Philippines hinggil sa panre-red-tag niya umano sa transport groups matapos niyang sabihing “communist-inspired” ang transport strike.
“Piston is an organization with leaders and some members poisoned by the ideologies of the bankrupt Communist Party of the Philippines, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, and the New People’s Army,” saad ni Duterte.
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“And happily cavorting with Piston and other militant organizations is ACT, a group that is diametrically nowhere near in the service of the interest of the learners and the education sector.
“This is not red-tagging. This is a statement of fact,” dagdag niya.
Binanggit din ni Duterte na ang unang kabiguan umano ng transport strike ay ang hindi umano nito pagsasaalang-alang sa kalagayan ng mga estudyante at guro.
“We oppose it because it is problematic, it will hurt our learners, and the inconvenience that it may cause comes with an enormous price deleterious to learning recovery efforts — and this is a price that learners will have to pay,” ani Duterte.
“This time, among the casualties are our learners and teachers. Kawawa ang mga estudyante at mga guro. The first failure of this transport strike is the failure to consider our learners and our teachers. This does not come as a surprise anymore — a tactic clearly taken from a playbook familiar to many Filipinos,” saad pa niya.
Ayon sa transport groups, isasagawa ang weeklong transport strike mula nitong Lunes, Marso 6, hanggang sa Linggo, Marso 12. bilang panawagan ng mga tsuper at operator na ibasura ang nakaambang jeepney phaseout na mag-aalis sa kanilang ikinabubuhay.
Nakatakdang ipatupad ang nasabing jeepney phaseout sa darating na Disyembre 31 upang bigyang-daan ang PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP) ng gobyerno. Sa ilalim ng programa, kinakailangang bumili ang mga operator ng consolidated entities ng modernong sasakyan na nagkakahalaga ng P2.4-milyon hanggang P2.8-milyon kada unit.
