The Philippine National Police (PNP) has placed 920 vehicles to be on standby if national and local government units (LGU) need to augment vehicles used for free rides during the start of the planned nationwide transport strike by on Monday.

In an interview with dzBB, PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said they had an inter-agency meeting for the transport strike.

“The inter-agency committee had a meeting led by the MMDA (Metro Manila Development Authority) to prepare for this mass transport strike which will start tomorrow and we have already established a monitoring center in the MMDA. There will be representatives from each agency of the government so they can monitor what is happening in real-time. To ensure a speedy response, we will deploy additional personnel and public utility (vehicles) so we can help our countrymen who will be stranded,” Fajardo said.

“We have around 920 more or less vehicles on standby nationwide to help the government agencies and LGUs so that if our countrymen are stranded, the mobility assets of the PNP will be readily available,” she added.

Fajardo said aside from mobile patrols which the PNP will deploy in the major rally points they have identified and major thoroughfares, they also have vehicles on standby in areas where people converge.

Around 9,000 PNP personnel will be deployed all over the country during the strike for traffic assistance, set up checkpoints, transportation hubs, and for border controls, she said.

Fajardo warned jeepney drivers and operators who will join the strike not to block the road.

“When we see that there is an illegal assembly, which means if they are blocking the way of the public and the roads, or if they will form road barricades, we cannot allow that to continue because this will cause disorder on our roads,” Fajardo said. Jaspearl Tan/DMS