TRANSPORT groups Piston and Manibela on Sunday announced separate strikes to protest what they described as widespread corruption under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Piston said it will stage a nationwide strike on Thursday, Sept. 18, coinciding with the next Senate hearing on alleged corruption in flood control projects. The group cited the rising burden of fuel costs and taxes on jeepney drivers.
“Due to the high prices of oil, jeepney drivers now pay around P12,000 monthly in VAT and fuel excise tax only to bankroll bogus flood control projects that line the pockets of politicians and contractors,” Piston said in a statement.
The group urged other public transport workers, commuters, and allied organizations to join its coordinated protest actions.
It also announced plans for a “massive mobilization” at Luneta on Sept. 21, the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. Various anti-corruption protests are also set on that day.
Manibela, for its part, declared a separate three-day strike from Sept. 17 to 19, denouncing fuel excise taxes that it said only benefit political elites.
“Excise tax ng diesel, napupunta lang pala sa luho ng mga anak ng pulitiko! Hindi na tama na kami ang nagpapalamon at pumopondo sa karangyaan nila, na samantalang ang mga masang tsuper ay halos magdamag na kung bumiyahe kumita lang nang sapat para sa kanilang pamilya,” the group said.
The strikes follow mounting criticism of alleged misuse of billions in “ghost” or substandard flood control projects now under congressional investigation.
