PISTON, Manibela stage nationwide strikes over fuel prices

Transport groups PISTON and Manibela will launch simultaneous nationwide strikes starting Tuesday, 21 April, to protest rising fuel prices and call for the repeal of energy tax laws.

PISTON will hold a one-day strike on 21 April, with more than 4,000 drivers expected to join in Metro Manila. Manibela, meanwhile, will stage a three-day strike from 21 April to 23 April.

The groups are pushing for a fuel price rollback to P55 per liter, the suspension of excise and value-added taxes on petroleum, and the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law.

Citing financial losses, PISTON filed a petition Monday before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board seeking a P10 increase in the minimum jeepney fare, from P13 to P23. The group said diesel prices in Metro Manila have reached around P123.40 per liter, up 86 percent from P66.40 per liter.

PISTON national coordinator Cerilo Latoreno stressed the urgency of the protest.

“Before Labor Day comes, we need to have a nationwide movement,” Latoreno said in Filipino, adding that the group is frustrated over what it described as the administration’s lack of response to previous demonstrations.

Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena said the three-day protest aims to oppose what the group sees as excessive taxation.

“Stop the abuse. Enough of the moneymaking spree. This Tuesday, we will hold another strike to slam the government for its excessive tax collection and exploitation of the people,” Valbuena said.

The strikes coincide with a fuel price rollback announced by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with diesel set to decrease by P24.94 per liter, gasoline by P3.41 and kerosene by P2.00.

However, the transport sector remains divided. The Western Visayas Alliance of Transport Cooperatives and Corporations Inc. opted out of the strikes, with local officials in Iloilo City assuring commuters of stable transport operations.