Manibela kicks off 3-day transport strike vs fuel price hike

MANILA, Philippines — Transport group Manibela on Monday started its three-day transport strike in protest of the soaring fuel prices.

READ: Transport strikes a go as fare hikes take effect

Jeepney operators and drivers, along with some who joined the protest, assembled at the University Avenue around 6 a.m. and went straight to Philcoa in Quezon City to hold a program.

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According to Manibela, jeepney drivers and operators “can no longer shoulder the burden of the continuous rise in fuel prices.”

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“With every hike in diesel prices, operating costs rise while the take-home pay for families shrinks,” the group said in a statement. 

The transport strike coincided with the taking effect of the P1 fare increase for traditional jeepneys.

Manibela Chair Mar Valbuena earlier said that the fare increase was “inadequate” amid the fuel price increases amounting to a net P50 per liter for diesel.

“Our protest will still push through because our request is for a P2 fare increase,” Valbuena earlier said in an interview.

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He said more than 20,000 members of their transport in Metro Manila will join their three-day strike until Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Aside from protesting the fuel price hike, the groups earlier said the transport strike likewise aims to call on the government to abolish the value-added tax and excise tax on fuel products, roll back fuel prices, and repeal the Oil Deregulation Law that allows oil companies to set fuel prices with little government control.

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READ: Piston to hold transport strike from Sept. 29 to 30

Meanwhile, transport group Piston will hold its nationwide strike from Sept. 29 to 30, with 70,000 to 100,000 members expected to participate.

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Oil companies raised pump prices, with diesel increased by P8.82 per liter to an average of P103, gasoline by P4.88 to P98, and kerosene by P6.47 to P130. /jpv