A TRANSPORT group in Cagayan de Oro City is threatening to stage series of mass demonstration to protest the increasing prices of petroleum products.
The Solidarity of Transport Alliance in Northern Mindanao-Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Starex-Piston) said the increase in petroleum products has already reached to P4 within the last two months alone.
Starex-Piston secretary-general Ringo Lago said the protests will be launched this month together with other sectoral groups.
Lago said the increasing price of oil products has already caused distress among the riding public, drivers and operators.
“Nagkahulugan kini nga samot ang palas-anon nga kalisud sa atong mga drayber ug gagmayng operator sa pampublikong transportasyon ug sa mga ordinaryong katawhang Pilipinong sumasakay (It means additional burden to the public),” Lago said.
Lago said the Filipino people were already overburdened with the skyrocketing prices of basic commodities because of the government's Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or Train law.
The representative said the Duterte administration seems to have no plan in solving this problem.
“Hinoon iyang gihimo mao ang pagpanglakag sa iyang kritiko ug paghimo-himo sa mga peke nga mga kaso ug pag red-tagging sa mga progresibong grupo ug mga lideres nga aktibong nanawagan nga sulbaron sa administrasyon ni Duterte (Instead he runs after his critics and red-tagging the leaders of progressive groups),” Lago said.
He said progressive groups have long been calling the government to end contractualization and raise the minimum wage of workers to P750 so workers can cope with the high cost of basic commodities and services.
The groups also calls Duterte to end Martial Law in Mindanao which for them resulted to extrajudicial killings, political killings, trump-up charges, fake and force surrender of lumads and farmers in the mountainside.