The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will start apprehending public utility vehicles (PUVs) with no franchises and provisional authorities in Bacolod City starting Monday, November 7.
Some private schools have cancelled face-to-face classes on Monday because of a potential lack of public transportation.
Leaders of transport groups said they have instructed their members not to let their unregistered PUVs ply the streets to avoid apprehensions but they have not declared a strike.
PUVs whose franchises have not expired and still have permits will continue to ply the streets, they said.
Modern jeepneys will also continue to operate.
The LTO Region 6 starting Monday will conduct checkpoints in several areas in the city to ensure compliance with Department of Transportation Order 2017-011, the Bacolod Public Information Office announced.
Sentrong Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Negros (SSTONE) chairman Albert Villanueva said their call is for traditional PUVs without documents not to operate because the LTO will be launching a massive apprehension drive and the fines are steep, but they have not called for a strike.
PUVs with complete documents will continue to ply the streets, Villanueva said.
He said out of 3,887 PUVs operating in Bacolod, about 40 to 60 percent with documents will remain on the streets.
Many of the PUVs have not been granted franchises for failure to comply with the PUV Vehicle Modernization Program.
The Modernization Program was launched by the Department of Transportation in 2017, with the goal of making the country’s public transportation system efficient and environmentally friendly by 2020.
The program calls for the phasing-out of jeepneys, buses and other PUVs that are at least 15 years old and replacing them with safer, more comfortable and more environmentally-friendly alternatives.
Elizabeth Katalbas, Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Association president, also said they have not declared a strike, they have only instructed their members without adequate documents to halt operations on Monday.
Villanueva and Katalbas said they will seek a dialog with Bacolod Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez when he returns from Japan on Tuesday, pointing out that the mayor promised to help them in the past.
Diego Malacad, United Negros Drivers Operators Center secretary general, also said their group has not declared a strike, they have yet to hold a meeting to come up with their position.
Riverside College said because of the potential difficulty of students getting to school, all examinations scheduled Monday are rescheduled to Friday.
Examinations for Tuesday to Thursday and online classes will go on as scheduled, it said.
STI West Negros University, John B .Lacson College Foundation Bacolod and La Consolacion College Bacolod said their classes at all levels will be held online on Monday.*