PM backs striking drivers
Support is pouring in for the striking Ilonggo drivers after a two-day strike that affected commuters particularly from the province.
In a news statement, Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) - Panay Chapter backed the sentiments of the drivers saying joined transport and Ilonggo consumers "in opposing series of oil price increases as well as the oppressive administrative fees being imposed by the LTFRB on the transport sector especially the members of the Iloilo City Alliance of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (ICAJODA)."
And while at it, PM likewise denounced another issue of price increases with PM "also joining the action of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC-Iloilo) in calling for a stop in the implementation of an impending P0.09/kwh power rate increase in the province and supports the call for Ilonggo consumers' ownership of Panay Electric Company (PECO)."
According to PM-Panay's secretary-general Mario Andon "while it is true that prices of oil in the world market had gone wayward and is now trying to breach a US$100/barrel critical mark, allowing the people to bear the full brunt of this crisis without any relief from the government is highly disgusting. Though the oil industry is already under a deregulated regime, it is still the duty of the State to ensure reasonable prices, and if necessary, find immediate measure to mitigate the impact of the oil crisis especially on the workers and the poor."
"The heavy impact of oil price hikes to the prices of other goods is beyond doubt because of its domino effect. It also drives up prices of utilities such as power which are dependent on imported oil. Eventually, the meager income of a wage earner is diminished further with the onslaught of high prices of goods and services. What more for the unemployed and underemployed people, said Ted Aldwin Ong, secretary-general of FDC-Iloilo.