Bishop calls on public to join transport strike

May 11, 2008

A prelate from Bacolod diocese has called on the public to support the transport sector in its nationwide strike against the unstoppable increases in the prices of petroleum products today and tommorow.

Bishop Vicente Navarra, in his pastoral letter posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Web site yesterday, noted the government is indifferent to people’s real economic condition as prices of oil and other basic commodities are on the rise.

“Let us call for immediate government intervention to cushion the impact of oil price increases on basic commodities, seek the scrapping of the 12-percent reformed value-added tax and the Oil Deregulation Law, the reclaiming of control of Petron and nationalization the oil industry,” Navarra, in his pastoral letter, said.

Militant groups in Bacolod City will hold a two-day transport strike while a one-day strike is set by militant groups in other parts of the country.

Militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), for its part, welcomed the prelate’s support for the scheduled protest.

“We express our deepest gratitude to Bishop Navarra for his politically and morally correct divine intervention. The Gospel for truth, justice and emancipation is well served

to the people with this call for the public to join the people’s strike against unjust and exploitative oil price hikes,” Pamalakaya national chairman Fernando Hicap said.

In response to Navarra’s call, Hicap called its leaders and mass members in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental to join the island-wide transport strike led by Pinagisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide-Negros Chapter (Piston-Chapter) and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-Negros) to join the strike on Monday and Tuesday.

He added the group has also asked its chapters in Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog, Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Panay Island and in Mindanao to join the nationwide strike called by the militant transport group Piston.

The militant fisherfolk federation has 43 provincial organizations all over the country and commands a mass membership more than 80,000 members.

“We hope more archbishops and bishops will follow Bishop Navarra’s crusade against the exploiting regime of President Arroyo and the oil cartel which is taking advantage of the crisis by bleeding the people more in the name of super monopoly profits,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

According to Pamalakaya, Malacañang and the Department of Energy (DoE) have been rejecting sound solutions called by different concerned groups to address the issue such as the repeal of Oil Deregulation Law, the scrapping of expanded Value Added Tax and other regressive tax measures levied on petroleum products, the buy back of Petron and the nationalization of oil industry.

Meanwhile, the government will be allocating trucks from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and buses from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to combat today’s scheduled transport strike led by the Pagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (Piston).

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC), in a statement, said it has prepared trucks from the AFP and the MMDA.

It added it will monitor the activities of the group today.

Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza expressed hope that rally participants will not get rowdy and will not force fellow drivers to join them.

George San Mateo, Piston secretary general, assured that they will have an orderly protest today.

Hye also expressed hope that authorities will not use force against them.

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO), for its part, said it will deploy at least 2,000 policemen in key Metro Manila areas today.

The police will be deployed in Cubao and Mabuhay Rotonda in Quezon City; Marikina City; Aduana in Manila; Taft Avenue and Pasay City; and the Caloocan-Malabon-Navotas-Valenzuela (Camanava) area.

NCRPO chief Director Geary Barias said metro police will be on full alert starting at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Barias also belittled the strike, saying it would not paralyze transport operations.

Transportation groups are opposing the P2 fuel subsidy for public transport operators.

Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board Chairman Thompson Lantion said the agency will begin distributing coupons to operators to make sure that only legitimate PUV operators can get the discount.

The fuel subsidy is the government’s move to cushion the effects of rising fuel prices.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said they are ready for the transport strike with the deployment of traffic personnel.

He added will be coordinating closely with different government agencies to ensure that stranded passengers will get free rides.

“We have already alerted our men along with the vehicles to be used in case there is a need to transport commuters in tomorrow’s (Monday) strike,” he said.

Fernando urged strike organizers to refrain from forcing other public utility drivers to join them.

By Charlie V. Manalo with Jason Faustino

source: http://tribune.net.ph/headlines/20080512hed2.html

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