Drivers group slams series of oil price hikes

CEBU, Philippines — Members of the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) Cebu Chapter along with the PISTON National Council and other progressive groups have expressed their dissent on the spate of oil price hikes and the looming phase out of traditional Public Utility Vehicles.

PISTON Cebu chairperson Greg Perez said yesterday was the 11th week of consecutive oil price hikes. Oil companies implemented a P2 per liter increase in the prices of gasoline and P2.50 per liter for diesel effective at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, September 19.

Perez said the government’s solution to the unabated fuel price hikes was to give out a one-time fuel subsidy of P6,500 to PUJ drivers, which they have not enjoyed until now. According to Perez, fuel subsidy is not the solution to the problem aside from the fact that it is not enough.

Perez, whose group staged a protest rally the other day, said that for drivers using an average of 30 liters per day the latest increase would mean an additional fuel expense of P408 per day or P12,240 per month for diesel and P525 per day or P15,750 per month for gasoline.

Perez said that the P6,500 fuel subsidy will only be subsidizing around 18 days or two and a half weeks and is nothing compared to the 11 weeks of successive oil price hikes.   Perez said that every month PUV drivers pay over P10,000 for the 12% VAT and Excise Tax in oil.

“The tax expenses of a driver is greater than the fuel subsidy that will be given by the government. This is our longstanding call that the urgent solution to oil price hikes is the scrapping of oil taxes,” he said in a statement.

PISTON reiterates that fuel subsidy is only a temporary solution to the long-time problem brought about by the Oil Deregulation Law or RA 8479 that enables large oil cartels to inflate prices at their own will.

Moreover, Perez calls for the repeal of such law and for the government to suspend VAT and excise tax that compounded the problem.  He added that it is clear that the demand of the drivers and small operators of traditional jeepneys is to deter the pending jeepney phaseout.

“PISTON Cebu is not against modernization of public transportation, it is crucial to give support to traditional jeepney drivers on the rehabilitation of their units for the improvement of their services to the people. Running the public transportation should not be given to big corporations whose only interest is maximum profit,” Perez said. — (FREEMAN)