National transport stoppage, a success
A nationwide transport stoppage was successfully launched on April 18 in various cities and towns to demand the junking of the Oil Deregulation Law and a stop to incessant hikes in the prices of petroleum products. The strike was part of a series of actions launched in preparation for this year's Labor Day commemoration. Workers in both industry and the service sector gave the strike their all-out support.
The transport strike was launched by the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON), the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines (FEJODAP), the Philippine Confederation of Drivers and Operators-Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (PCDO-ACTO), the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines (ALTODAP) and the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Associations (IMBOA).
Initial reports showed that transportation was 85-90% paralyzed in Metro Manila, particularly in Quezon City, Caloocan, Malabon, Navotas, Pasay, Marikina, Taguig, Pasig and San Juan.
In Bulacan, transportation in Malolos was 100% paralyzed, with 90% paralysis in Guiguinto, Balagtas and Meycauayan.
In Southern Tagalog, 75% of transportation routes in Bi�an, Sta. Rosa, San Pedro, San Pablo and Los Ba�os was paralyzed.
In Bicol, 98% of public vehicles in Sorsogon and Camarines Sur and 90% in Albay did not ply their routes.
In Cagayan de Oro, up to 98% of transportation, especially the habal-habal (motorcycles), was paralyzed by the strike led by the Solidarity Transport Alliance and the Transport Federation.
In Davao City and adjacent provinces, government offices closed when the Transport in Southern Mindanao for Solidarity, Independence and Nationalism (TRANSMISSION-PISTON) paralyzed 98% of transportation.
Meanwhile, oil companies had the gall to ignore the people's widespread clamor to stop the weekly hikes in the prices of petroleum products. They raised gasoline, diesel, kerosene and LPG prices by seventy-five centavos right on the day of the nationwide transport strike. They have likewise announced that their weekly hikes will continue until they recover almost P3 per liter in the price of diesel and over P3 per liter in the price of gasoline. PISTON, meanwhile, warned that it would continue its protest actions until oil prices are rolled back and the Oil Deregulation Law is junked.
In related news, members of the Kilusang Mayo Uno and its allied organizations from Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog camped out in front of Congress from April 11 to 13. They demanded that members of congress pass the proposed P125 increase in the workers' daily wage. The KMU said that it was only right to pass House Bill 345 whose approval has been blocked in Congress for several years now.
At the same time, the KMU condemned the Employers' Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) for continuing to ignore the workers' just demands. Instead, ECOP is proposing a review of the Labor Code to legalize labor contractualization and flexibilization and strongly opposes any proposal to raise wages and ensure workers' rights.
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