JEEPNEY drivers and operators held a nationwide transport strike yesterday to protest a government plan to modernize the country’s transport system.

The strike forced local governments in Metro Manila and nearby provinces to suspend classes.

Jun Magno, president of the Stop & GO Coalition, said 87% of drivers and operators in Metro Manila participated in the strike.

Mr. Magno said they were not against the modernization program but its enforcement should not be forced on them.

Metro Manila Development Authority spokesperson Pircelyn B. Pialago called the transport strike a failure because few commuters were affected. Many jeepney operators did not participate, she said by telephone.

Ms. Pialago also said class suspensions should be used to measure the strike’s success.

Police deployed buses, trucks and patrol vehicles to help stranded commuters, National Capital Region Police Office Regional Director Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

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