Massive transport strike set on Sept. 19

MANILA, Philippines – Militant transport group Piston will stage a transport strike on Monday, Sept. 19, following a “non-substantial” negotiation with the Palace yesterday.

Piston secretary general George San Mateo said the transport strike is in protest of the P9 overpricing of  big oil firms on their petroleum products, while citing that their talks with President Benigno Aquino III yielded no concrete and definitive results.

San Mateo said the strike is to call the attention of the government to scrap the oil deregulation law and the 12 percent expanded value added tax on petroleum products.

The group urged private motorists to avoid gassing up at stations during the transport holiday next week, while urging them not to use their vehicles during the day.

"This will not only get their attention on our demands not only of transport workers but also ordinary citizens," San Mateo said.

He cited that the one-day boycott of oil products will translate of billions of pesos loss to oil firms.

The groups are expected to paralyze transport in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces during the strike. The move will also affect Cagayan De Oro City, Butuan City, SOCSKSARGEN areas, and CALABARZON region, among others.

"We will not buckle down. We will match our words with actions," San Mateo said.

However, other transport groups such as Fejodap and Pasang Masda will not push through with a strike, saying they were contented with the results of the dialogue.

They noted they have been promised a single-ticketing system nationwide to ease the issuance of the traffic violation receipt to public utility drivers.

Instead of staging a strike, Fejodap and Pasang Masda will file a case against the energy department.