Philippine transport groups launched a nationwide strike Monday to protest a government program drivers fear would phase out traditional jeepneys, which have become a cultural icon, and other aging public transport vehicles.
Officials, however, braced with contingencies, including the deployment of government vehicles to take stranded passengers. Other groups refused to join the weeklong strike that could keep more than 40,000 passenger jeepneys and vans off the streets in the Manila metropolis alone.
