Nationwide Transport Strike Looms
2-day Negros strike paralyzes transportation, schools

A nationwide transport strike looms early next year when oil companies are expected to announce yet another round of oil price hikes, the 59^th since 1996. Negros transport leaders made the announcement following a successful two-day and island-wide transport strike early last week.

By Karl G. Ombion
Bulatlat.com/Cobra-Ans

(Left) Bacolod City was a virtual ghost town during the two-day transport strike. (Right) Large streamer on a passenger vehicle proclaims the demands of transport and labor groups 

Photo by Karl G. Ombion

BACOLOD CITY – Transport drivers all over the country are gearing for a nationwide strike early next year to protest oil price hikes and call for the scrapping of the oil deregulation law.

This looms in the wake of a successful two-strike transport strike in this city throughout the Negros island last week that paralyzed transportation and closed schools, offices and business establishments.

Jesse Ortega, secretary general of the United Negros Drivers and Operators Coalition (UNDOC) which spearheaded the strike here, said the Negros strike has spurred calls for drivers in other regions to stage a nationwide strike when oil giants impose another oil price hike in early 2004.

Ortega said the nationwide strike will call for the junking of the oil price deregulation law even as they will press for the stop to all price hikes and the approval of a P1 fare hike and for wage increases among workers and government employees.

Expected to take part in the nationwide strike are drivers and operators in Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Panay, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, the UNDOC leader said.

The transport strike staged last Monday and Tuesday paralyzed transportation by as much as 90 percent in the city and 95 percent in other towns of Negros Occidental as well as Dumaguete City and other municipalities in Negros Oriental, Ortega also revealed.

Schools including universities were shut down. Among those that declared no classes were the University of St. La Salle, University of Negros Occidental Recoletos, Riverside College, Trinity Christian Center, La Consolacion College and West Negros College.

The strike was supported by the militant Bayan, party list Bayan Muna and its allied party list organizations Anakpawis, Gabriela and Anak ng Bayan.

Bacolod Bishop Msgr. Vicente Navarra also declared his full support for the strike and the drivers' demands.

The strikers and their supporters set up several barricade centers in strategic points in Bacolod, Silay City, Victorias City, Sagay City and Escalanate in northern Negros, Bago City, La Carlota City and Kabankalan City in southern Negros, and also in Dumaguete City.

Thousands of striking-drivers and their support groups held a culmination march-rally with noise barrages on the afternoon of second day in downtown Bacolod to sum-up their issues and demands and declare victory in the two-day transport strike.

Oil deregulation - a failure

Strike leaders said periodic oil price increases have been gobbling up much of drivers’ earnings while small operators have to contend with increases in spare parts, government taxes, and other fees and charges by government transport agencies.

Since the approval of oil deregulation law in 1996 and its full deregulation in 1998, giant oil firms have raised prices of petroleum and other oil products 58 times. Statistics gathered by Bulatlat.com reveal that price hikes have increased the prices of petroleum products by 270 percent.

This, the Bulatlat research reveals, is contrary to the claim of government that oil deregulation would bring in more players in the oil industry which would result in competition thus leading to the lowering of prices of petroleum products.

With only a few oil firms involved in the oil industry that remains dominated by Petron, Shell and Caltex, the supposed competition has not brought about the intended decrease in prices as firms compete with one another.

Oil deregulation has only strengthened the monopoly of the oil giants fixing price increases at will and forcing the smaller companies to also raise prices to remain in competition.

In last Tuesday’s rally, Teddy Macainan, a council member of UNDOC, denounced government authorities for "being callous on the plight and demands of the transport groups and the consumers for their continued subservience to the whims and caprices of the oil giants".

Alejandro Deoma, Negros liaison officer of partylist Bayan Muna, vowed to bring the transport sector's complaints, especially their demand for the scrapping of oil deregulation law and P1fare hike, to Congress via its partylist representatives and other local congressmen.

Bayan Muna Rep. Siegfred Deduro, a veteran street parliamentarian who replaced Bayan Muna Rep. Liza Maza, also lauded UNDOC, drivers and operators. He also vowed to facilitate the holding of a congressional hearing on the complaints against the oil deregulation law. Bulatlat.com / Cobra-Ans

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