A transport group said Thursday that their seven-day strike will push through next week, despite the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) deciding to extend the deadline to set up cooperatives as a step towards modernizing jeepneys.

“We are going to continue and nothing can change our mind about the transport strike that we have previously announced if they will not junk the memorandum circular,” Mar Valbuena, national president of Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (MANIBELA) told dzBB.

But other transport groups have declared that they will not be joining the strike next week, including Pangkalahatang Sanggunian Manila & Suburbs Drivers Association (Pasang-Masda) and Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON).

LTFRB previously approved Memorandum Circular 2023-013 which states that individual operators of traditional jeepneys will only be allowed to ply their routes after June 30 if they join a cooperative.

On Wednesday, the agency further extended the deadline for the consolidation of jeepney operators following a threat by transport groups to go on strike from March 6 to 12.

Valbuena maintained that unless the LTFRB scraps the memorandum circular, they will not have a dialogue with them.

“Why is it that even if the President himself has asked them to reconsider, the LTFRB still does things differently? They are just extending our suffering. The provisions that burden us are still there,” Valbuena said.

“I’m standing by my request for them to scrap the memorandum circular that they issued in the past days. There is nothing good written there,” he added.

“That’s why we won’t back out on our transport strike next week because they are challenging us…They want to show that we have no power. Let’s see what will happen on Monday,” Valbuena said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS