National Day of Public Transport Paralysis calls for PGMA’s Ouster!

November 14, 2005

The National Transportworkers' Union-Alliance of Progressive Labor (NTU-APL) together with other fraternal transport groups in key cities nationwide including the Jeepney Transport Coalition of the Philippines (JTC), are launching today the National Day of Transport Paralysis to denounce the despicable traffic rules, oppressive E-VAT law, and abhorrent oil deregulation law, as they call for the ouster of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) due to her odious economic programs.

"Transport groups nationwide are already exasperated with the conflicting and infuriating traffic rules and ordinances implemented by LGUs, LTFRB, and LTO, resulting to needless penalties and unbearable fines that have only worsened our dire situation aside from the fact that these rules did not really resolve traffic woes," said Bren Sayasa, spokesperson of the NTU-APL.

"In Metro Manila, we likewise call for the ouster of MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando for continuously enforcing the Metropolitan Traffic Ticket scheme, which the Court had already ordered as null and void, but is still, and now, being deceptively implemented as the Obstruction Violation Receipt. We are further dismayed by the fact that despite numerous dialogues, the problem of LGUs creating separate traffic rules on top of the MMDA policies persists," he added.

Meanwhile, Josua Mata, Secretary General of the Alliance of Progressive Labor, said that, "At the bottom of the transport workers' continued poverty and utter disgust with GMA's administration is not only the E-VAT but also her continued adherence to the oil deregulation law which have sent oil prices skyrocketing, in order to appease the cartel that monopolizes the industry. This National Day of Transport Paralysis is meant not only to call for the scrapping of both the E-VAT and the Oil Deregulation Law, but to clarify that GMA is to blame for all this and that reforms in the transport sector will never happen under her administration."

"We realize that change and reforms will only be possible under a new administration. Look how easily she flipped on the wage hike issue. In her desire to keep power she is again bending over to retain business support, at the expense of workers everywhere," Mata said. "It is thus time for the MMDA head and his benefactor in Malacañang to go," he added.

This is the main message that the APL and the NTU will bring to the streets today with the National Day of Transport Paralysis where they expect to hold demonstrations in key cities nationwide to be joined by other labor unions and urban poor groups.