PISTON strike enters second day over rising fuel prices

MANILA, Philippines — The transport strike by Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) has proceeded for a second day on Wednesday, September 30, in protest against rising oil prices.

According to the transport group’s national president, former senatorial candidate Mody Floranda, the two-day transport strike was launched in protest against the continued implementation of the Oil Deregulation Law, which he said burdens jeepney drivers and the general public by allowing oil companies to dictate fuel prices unilaterally.

“Nawawala naman yung maliit na kita ng ating mga driver at mga operator dahil nga sa mataas na presyo ng petrolyo,” Floranda said.

(The modest earnings of our drivers and operators are disappearing due to the high price of fuel.)

PISTON, which started the transport strike on September 29, is also urging the government to reevaluate existing policies and laws, specifically targeting the excise tax on fuel and the Oil Deregulation Law.

The group anticipates that drivers and operators across different regions will participate in the strike, potentially disrupting public transit in several areas.

In Metro Manila, PISTON said that they will march from Welcome Rotonda to Mendiola Peace Arch in Manila on Wednesday afternoon.

PISTON, in a separate statement, also said that the 78-year-old Tatay Elmer, who is known to be one of the “Piston 6,” has been rushed to the hospital due to a heart attack while at a protest.

The group said that he was rushed to the Caloocan City Medical Center and was unconscious as of PISTON’s 5:55 p.m. Facebook post on September 29.

The Piston 6, which Tatay Elmer is known to be a part of, is a group of six jeepney drivers from PISTON who were arrested in Caloocan City on June 2, 2020, for holding a peaceful roadside protest during COVID-19 community quarantines.

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