Transport Groups to Strike vs. Oil Deregulation, EVAT
Will also demand Arroyo’s ouster from presidency

The transport group Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston or United Nationwide Association of Drivers and Operators) has announced that it will be holding a nationwide transport strike on Sept. 12 to demand the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law and the repeal of the Expanded Value-Added Tax Law (EVAT). It will also carry the demand for Arroyo’s resignation or ouster, says Piston.

BY ALEXANDER MARTIN REMOLLINO

Bulatlat

STRIKE: A young protester brandishes an anti-oil deregulation placard during a recent transport strike in Davao City                                             File photo

The transport group Pinag-isang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston or United Nationwide Association of Drivers and Operators) has announced that it will lead a nationwide transport strike on Sept. 12 to demand the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law and the repeal of the Expanded Value-Added Tax Law (EVAT). Piston and another transport group, the Philippine Confederation of Drivers and Operators – Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (PCDO-ACTO) expect to cripple public transportation in Metro Manila and regional centers by 90 percent, said George San Mateo, Piston spokesperson. The transport strike will coincide with the National Day of Prayer declared by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The transport sector and the consuming public have had to put up with almost weekly oil price hikes following steep jumps in world crude oil prices last month. Diesel, which is used mainly by jeepney drivers who comprise the bulk of Piston’s mass base, is now sold at P32 ($0.57 based on a $1:P56.06 exchange rate as of Sept. 9). Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is used for cooking in most Philippine households, is now priced at P440 per tank.

Piston holds President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo responsible for the relentless increases in oil prices, said the group’s spokesperson, George San Mateo. “Mrs. Arroyo says she cannot do anything about the effect of increases in world oil prices,” he said in a brief phone interview with Bulatlat over the weekend. “But that’s not true. The government can implement price controls.”

San Mateo also said that the transport strike will also carry the demand for the scrapping of the Expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) law.

The Supreme Court voted 15-0 on Sept. 1 upholding the constitutionality of the EVAT bill, which was signed into law early this year. The EVAT law expands the coverage of the VAT to include fuel, electricity, and transportation among other previously VAT-exempt goods and services.

According to Piston president Mar Garvida, the implementation of the EVAT law would increase pump prices by more than P3 per liter.

San Mateo also said that the transport strike will likewise be demanding Arroyo’s resignation or ouster.

“This is our fifth transport strike expressing the same demand for the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law,” San Mateo told Bulatlat, “but all the while she has only been meeting us with deaf ears. She has not done anything to alleviate the sufferings of the people, including those in the transport sector.”

“So she should resign from her post,” San Mateo added. “If she doesn’t resign, we will be calling for her ouster as well.”

Piston has a total membership of 250,000 nationwide, according to Garvida and San Mateo. Piston, together with PCDO-ACTO, expect to paralyze 90 percent of the country’s public transport.

The mass-up points in Metro Manila, according to San Mateo, will be in Alabang, Muntinlupa City; Baclaran, Parañaque City; Cubao and Novaliches, both in Quezon City; the port area in Manila, the Ever Gotesco Mall in Caloocan City, the Kalayaan-Kamias interchange in Quezon City, and the Welcome Rotunda, the boundary between Quezon City and Manila.

There will be other strike centers in Baguio City, Cagayan Valley, Ilocos, Pangasinan, Pampanga, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Bicol, Cebu, Bohol, the Negros provinces, Davao City, Cagayan de Oro City, Gen. Santos City, and Cotabato City, said San Mateo. Bulatlat

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