Amid the flood of protests in the country, Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) called for a transport strike against corruption on September 18. The strike supports the broader protest planned at Luneta on September 21, the anniversary of the martial law declaration in 1972 by Ferdinand Marcos Sr, father of the current president.

“Jeep, modern, bus, taxi, rider, trucker. Whichever mode of transport, we all shoulder the heavy taxes on fuel,” Piston declared. While drivers toil to make a living, the government funnels the collected taxes into anomalous projects.

Piston estimates that drivers pay nearly ₱13,000 in fuel taxes every month, while riders pay around ₱4,000. The highest VAT and excise taxes are collected from “modern jeeps” and buses, reaching as much as ₱23,400 each month.

“Modernization already drowns us in debt, and they even steal the taxes we pay! Hearings and investigations are no longer enough. Officials must be held accountable! Someone must be jailed,” Piston said.

In Cebu, delivery service Maxim riders held a caravan on September 12 to protest arrests, confiscation of licenses, and impounding of their motorcycles.

“Riders pay taxes every day from the cost of gasoline for their motorcycles, and they are even fined ₱6,000,” Piston-Cebu said. They raged over how their paid taxes go only to corrupt officials while transportation agencies heap layer upon layer of burdens on them.

They called on riders across the country to unite and fight government corruption.