More jeepneys join transport strike

BACOLOD CITY—More public utility jeeps (PUJs) kept off the streets yesterday on the second day of a transport strike against fuel price disparity in Negros Occidental.

Senior Supt. Ricardo de la Paz, city police chief, said at least 70 percent of PUJs did not ply their routes compared to 60 percent on the first day of the strike on Monday.

Taxis and tricycles, however, continued to ply the streets.

Jesse Ortega, secretary general of the United Negros Drivers Operators Center (Undoc), said 85-90 percent of drivers in the province joined the strike.

Undoc, business groups and other sectors are protesting the prices of oil products in Negros Occidental, which are higher by P4 to P5 per liter than those in Metro Manila.

The disparity has been exorbitant, according to Frank Carbon, president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry.