Another transport strike set for April 21

MANILA, Philippines — Another transportation strike is set for Tuesday, April 21, as groups intensify their calls for the government to bring down petroleum prices, as well as suspend the excise and value-added taxes imposed on petroleum products.

The strike will be led by transport groups Manibela and Piston, with protests also to be held by Bayan and other people’s organizations.

READ: Iloilo City transport groups to skip April 21 strike – mayor

“The gradual price rollbacks implemented by oil companies are not sufficient, and some of them are not even complying with the announced price reductions,” Manibela President Mar Valbuena said in Filipino.

“That is why the call continues for a full rollback of prices to the correct level and the suspension of the excise tax and value-added tax on petroleum products,” he added.

The main protest center for Manibela will be located at Petron Philcoa and will begin around 7 a.m.

The main program for the strike will also begin at Petron Philcoa at 7 a.m., while multiple strike centers will be staged in various locations in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, according to Bayan, protests will be conducted along the National Housing Authority in Quezon City, Katipunan Jeep Terminal, PUP, Tatalon, UP Diliman, and Pedro Gil in Manila.

Apart from the call to lower petroleum prices, Bayan said it will also protest President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s refusal to remove oil taxes, the failure to control the profiteering of oil companies, and the ineffective and slow distribution of financial aid, while also allegedly allowing the expansion of US military presence and intervention in the country. /mcm