Piston mulls weekend transport holiday
07/22/2008 | 08:10 AM
MANILA, Philippines - Continued increases in prices of diesel may soon drive passenger jeeps out of the streets during weekends, a militant jeep drivers' group said Tuesday.
The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) said jeep drivers have been at the losing end of the seemingly endless fuel price hikes.
"Ang driver kapos sa sobrang taas ng diesel. Kung sa weekend lang naman walang kikitain, huwag na lang mamasada sa araw na iyan (Drivers are beleaguered over the continued rise in the prices of diesel. If it comes to the point that we cannot earn even a little during the weekends, it is better not to go out at all on those days)," Piston secretary general George San Mateo said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
He noted that in past weekends, fewer families have been going out, preferring instead to stay home due to high cost of living and high transportation costs.
"Lalo na pag yung tinatawag nating holiday, Sabado at Linggo ... pag weekend, hindi na rin sila gaano lumalabas para mamasyal (Families no longer go out during holidays and weekends)," he noted.
Government recently approved a fare hike that pegged the minimum fare for passenger jeeps in Metro Manila at P8.50.
But Piston and other transport groups, saying the fare hike is not enough, are mulling another fare hike petition that will hike the minimum fare further to P10.
San Mateo said jeep drivers consume an average of 30 liters of diesel a day. At P56 a liter, he said jeep drivers have to spend at least P1,680 a day just for fuel.
On the other hand, he laughed off as "press releases for television" the government's supposed subsidies for jeep drivers. "Lokohan na yan (That's a joke)," he said.
He also scored anew the P1.50/liter rollback in diesel prices that Malacañang announced last Sunday, saying it is a pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) gimmick for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
But he said the rollback exposed the government's admission that oil firms are indeed abusing the deregulation of the oil industry.
"Ang magandang napatunayan di totoo sinasabi ng gobyerno wala silang magagawa na market forces yan, nag-intervene sila. Ang masama selected ang pagkilos ng gobyerno pag nanganib ang political survival ni Mrs Arroyo. Dapat di lang pag nangangabnib ang survival gusto natin permanent ang pagprotekta sa atin ng gobyerno (What is good is that the government finally intervened instead of blaming market forces. What is bad is that it's all for the political survival of Mrs Arroyo. What we need is a government that will protect us always and not just when its political survival is threatened)," he said. - GMANews.TV
The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) said jeep drivers have been at the losing end of the seemingly endless fuel price hikes.
"Ang driver kapos sa sobrang taas ng diesel. Kung sa weekend lang naman walang kikitain, huwag na lang mamasada sa araw na iyan (Drivers are beleaguered over the continued rise in the prices of diesel. If it comes to the point that we cannot earn even a little during the weekends, it is better not to go out at all on those days)," Piston secretary general George San Mateo said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
He noted that in past weekends, fewer families have been going out, preferring instead to stay home due to high cost of living and high transportation costs.
"Lalo na pag yung tinatawag nating holiday, Sabado at Linggo ... pag weekend, hindi na rin sila gaano lumalabas para mamasyal (Families no longer go out during holidays and weekends)," he noted.
Government recently approved a fare hike that pegged the minimum fare for passenger jeeps in Metro Manila at P8.50.
But Piston and other transport groups, saying the fare hike is not enough, are mulling another fare hike petition that will hike the minimum fare further to P10.
San Mateo said jeep drivers consume an average of 30 liters of diesel a day. At P56 a liter, he said jeep drivers have to spend at least P1,680 a day just for fuel.
On the other hand, he laughed off as "press releases for television" the government's supposed subsidies for jeep drivers. "Lokohan na yan (That's a joke)," he said.
He also scored anew the P1.50/liter rollback in diesel prices that Malacañang announced last Sunday, saying it is a pre-State of the Nation Address (SONA) gimmick for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
But he said the rollback exposed the government's admission that oil firms are indeed abusing the deregulation of the oil industry.
"Ang magandang napatunayan di totoo sinasabi ng gobyerno wala silang magagawa na market forces yan, nag-intervene sila. Ang masama selected ang pagkilos ng gobyerno pag nanganib ang political survival ni Mrs Arroyo. Dapat di lang pag nangangabnib ang survival gusto natin permanent ang pagprotekta sa atin ng gobyerno (What is good is that the government finally intervened instead of blaming market forces. What is bad is that it's all for the political survival of Mrs Arroyo. What we need is a government that will protect us always and not just when its political survival is threatened)," he said. - GMANews.TV
