Thousands of drivers strike in the Philippines over rising fuel prices 

Thousands of drivers of informal public transport vehicles have stopped work in the Philippines in protest against rising fuel prices, prompting the government to deploy police officers and buses to help stranded commuters.

The two-day strike, organised by Piston, a transport workers’ union, began on Tuesday.

Protesters want fuel prices cut to 55 pesos ($0.88) a litre, the level before the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February. Organisers said that at least 70,000 drivers and operators would take part in the strike.

National police spokesman Allen Rae Co said officials had monitored 11 rallies involving 275 people in Manila and that the strike had not caused a significant disruption in the capital region.

He said 8,643 police personnel were deployed to assist commuters and maintain peace and order.

US-Israel war on Iran

The Department of Transportation said it would provide free rides to passengers on Tuesday.

In the southeastern Bicol region, the authorities sent buses to help affected commuters, the state-run Philippine News Agency reported.

Piston has blamed the US-Israel war on Iran for the rising prices. “Fuel prices will continue to rise as long as the US persists in waging war,” it said in a social media post.

It accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s government and the US of making drivers suffer through the oil crisis.

Another group, Manibela, earlier staged a strike on Monday, demanding relief from rising fuel costs and the removal of the value-added tax and excise tax on fuel.

It suspended the strike on Tuesday to hold a dialogue with the Land Transportation Office. Drivers and operators “can no longer shoulder the burden of the continuous rise in fuel prices”, the group said in a statement.

The Philippines most recently increased fuel prices on August 25. The move was attributed to geopolitical conflicts and hostilities in the Middle East, which have disrupted shipping lanes such as the Strait of Hormuz and reduced global oil supplies.

In March, the country declared a national energy emergency over the price increases, becoming the first in the world to do so.

The Philippines relies heavily on imported oil, which pushes up consumer inflation and transportation and logistics costs, and cuts into the take-home pay of drivers and low-income households.

‘Bleeding communities’

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, which regulates public transport, called the fare increase a reasonable adjustment.

“Rising fuel prices significantly impact not only operators but also the workers who rely on the continuous and stable operation of public utility vehicles for their livelihood,” the agency said in a statement.

Al Jazeera’s Jamila Alindogan, reporting from Manila, said drivers in the city have seen their daily wages drop from $10 per day at the beginning of the year to less than $5 now.

“Many here say the inflation is actually bleeding communities,” she said.

“The prices of goods are also steadily increasing, and it’s a crisis that’s being felt by millions of Filipinos across the country. And although the war in Iran and the events in the Middle East have actually triggered this crisis, many Filipinos say the government can no longer use that excuse for its inability to respond to the major economic needs of millions of Filipinos,” she added.