A coalition of the country’s biggest labor unions on Monday said the national government’s failure to provide adequate public transportation on the first day of the general community quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila could lead to the resurgence Covid-19 cases in the region.
“This transport fiasco, the DOTr (Department of Transportation) and the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) risks wasting all the sacrifices forced on everyone for more than 2 months of lockdown to stop Covid-19,” Nagkaisa said in a statement.
It said both agencies failed to provide sufficient public transportation for the hundreds of employees, who returned to work.
Many workers were forced to wait for hours on the streets in the hope they could ride the limited number of available public utility vehicles (PUV) which were allowed to operate.
“Contrary to MMDA’s arrogant claims of its full readiness for June 1, physical distancing was completely compromised as commuters waited for transport services,” Nagkaisa said.
Limited options
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) tried to augment the limited number of PUVs by deploying 48 trucks and buses to provide free transportation to the stranded commuters.
From June 1 to 21, the DoTR has allowed only the following public transportation to operate in NCR: train and bus augmentation; taxis and transportation vehicle service networks (TNVS); shuttle services (including point-to-point buses); bicycles; tricycles with clearance from local government units (LGU).
It is only from June 22 to 30, when it will allow public utility buses, modern public utility vehicles (PUV), and ‘UV express’ vans to operate but on a limited capacity.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the reduced availability of vehicles is a deliberate attempt by the government to limit the number people, who will go outside of their homes.
While the government limited the public transportation in GCQ, it did not impose any mandatory restriction for the number of workers, which companies can require to report physically for work.
The lack of PUVs led many workers to become late or absent in their work.
To address this, Nagkaisa called on the government to contract out or allow additional PUVs to operate during the GCQ.
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