Commuters stranded in Metro Manila amid transport strike

Some commuters were stranded in parts of Metro Manila on Thursday morning as transport groups staged a two-day nationwide strike against rising fuel prices, transport group MANIBELA and police said. 

“May mga stranded kasi kahit alam natin na rally, mayroon pa rin talagang lumalabas kahit hindi naman gaanong ka-importante yung kanilang mga lakad,” National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) spokesperson Police Major Hazel Asilo told reporters in an interview.

(There were stranded commuters because some with not so important activities still decided to go out despite the transport strike.)

“So, nagko-contribute sila doon sa bulto nung mga kababayan natin na pumapasok sa kanilang mga schools at sa kanilang mga trabaho,” he added.

(So, they are contributing to the volume of commuters who are going to schools and workplaces.)

According to MANIBELA, stranded commuters were monitored in some parts of Manila, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque, Las Piñas, and Malabon.

The NCRPO said no untoward incidents have been monitored at rally sites so far.

Transport workers from various sectors including jeepneys, transport network vehicle services (TNVS), motorcycle taxis, buses, and UV Express joined the mass action.

In Metro Manila, one of the main protest gatherings of the No To Oil Price Hike Coalition was along Aurora Boulevard in Cubao, Quezon City, where a program began at 6:00 a.m.

More strike centers across the National Capital Region and other regions were also set.

The group called for the removal of value-added tax (VAT) and excise taxes on petroleum products, rollback of fuel prices to P55 per liter, and scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law.

They also demanded fare increases across all transport modes, P1,200 family living wage, and the nationalization of the oil industry to allow the government to directly procure and sell fuel at lower costs.

According to the group, wars should be stopped to end the rising fuel prices.

Due to the transport strike, different government agencies prepared free rides for affected commuters. —AOL, GMA Integrated News