Diesel now three times more costly since Arroyo's 1st SONA - Bayan

MANILA, Philippines - With the P3 per liter price hike imposed by oil firms on Saturday, diesel will now be three times more expensive than during President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's first State of the Nation Address (SONA) in 2001, the leftist umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said on Saturday. Bayan said that a week before Mrs Arroyo delivers her SONA, the cost of diesel ballooned to P58.94 per liter, a 306 percent increase from P14.50 a liter in 2001. "This clearly belies Malacañang's claim of better life for Filipinos under the Arroyo (administration), a recurring theme that is expected to be further hyped by the regime towards Arroyo's SONA on July 28," it said. It said that in 2001, when Mrs Arroyo in her first SONA "vowed to monitor oil price hikes," ordinary jeepney drivers spent only P435 per day. But now, Bayan sais jeepney drivers need to shell out more than P1,768 just to pay for diesel. Of the amount, more than P212 will go directly to the government as 12 percent value added tax (VAT), according to the group. The same thing is true for other ordinary income earners who rely on fuel products for their livelihood, Bayan said. "Fishers who use regular gasoline for their motorized bancas now spend as much as P578 per fishing trip, of which P69 go to VAT. In July 2001, they only spend P172 per fishing trip," it said. On the other hand, escalating fuel prices have contributed to sharp increases in the overall cost of living because of its domino effect on the prices of other goods and services, according to Bayan. "When Arroyo first took office, the daily cost of living for an ordinary family in Metro Manila was P509. Today, it has already jumped to about P858," it said. Kontra-KulimVAT, a campaign launched by Bayan to remove the VAT on oil and power, earlier estimated that around 1.2 million Filipinos would be added to the number of poor if current oil price trends persist until yearend. Bayan scored the President and her “spin masters" for continuing to aggressively defend the VAT and highlight the supposed gains that ordinary people get from it. "But the hard realities on the ground being felt by the people everyday due to runaway fuel prices and aggravated by the oppressive VAT will easily discredit this empty government propaganda," it said. - GMANews.TV