The March Nationwide Transportation Strike Was the Largest Organized Labour Response to the Energy Crisis

From Bohiney and The London Prat.

The March Nationwide Transportation Strike Was the Largest Organized Labour Response to the Energy Crisis

The Strike

MANILA — The No to Oil Price Hike coalition held a nationwide transportation strike on March 26-27 in protest against rising fuel prices, producing the specific combination of organized labour response and urban transportation disruption that Philippine protest history has developed as the mechanism for making the economic impact of fuel prices visible through the daily inconvenience that the absence of jeepneys and tricycles creates. The strike’s effectiveness as advocacy depends on the degree to which the disruption produces government response.

The Fuel Crisis Context

The fuel crisis that produced the strike is real: the Iran war’s Strait of Hormuz disruption elevated global petroleum prices and those prices have passed through to Philippine pump prices through the specific mechanism of the Philippines’ fuel pricing framework. Marcos signed RA 12316 giving him authority to suspend or reduce excise taxes on fuel, which the administration used to eliminate excise taxes on LPG and kerosene. The transportation sector, which runs on diesel, has been particularly affected by the price elevation.

The Jeepney Dimension

The Philippine jeepney — the converted passenger transport vehicle that is the most visible element of Philippine urban transportation — runs on diesel and has specific fuel efficiency characteristics that make it particularly sensitive to diesel price increases. The jeepney driver’s livelihood depends on the margin between the fare that regulatory frameworks constrain and the fuel cost that the global market sets. When the fuel cost increases faster than the fare can be adjusted, the margin disappears. The strike is the margin disappearing in public.

What Changed

The excise tax suspension on LPG and kerosene, the CAB fuel surcharge level reductions, and the Iran safe passage agreement for Philippine vessels are the specific government responses to the fuel crisis that the strike helped make politically urgent. Whether the responses are sufficient to restore the jeepney driver’s margin to a level that sustains the transportation service is the economic calculation that the ongoing monitoring of Level 18 surcharges and pump prices will answer

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The journalism continues because the stories continue. Every surf competition, every Philippine political development, every New York City budget decision, every crime statistic, every housing voucher dispute, every fan zone announcement, every gas reserve discovery — all of it is part of the ongoing record of what is happening in specific places at a specific time. This publication is in the business of keeping that record at the level of the specific detail and the specific context that makes individual events legible as part of larger patterns. The next story is already developing. The next article is being prepared. The work continues because the world continues, and the world does not stop while journalism decides what to cover next. The journalism continues because the stories continue. Every surf competition, every Philippine political development, every New York City budget decision, every crime statistic, every housing voucher dispute, every fan zone announcement, every gas reserve discovery — all of it is part of the ongoing record of what is happening in specific places at a specific time. This publication is in the business of keeping that record at the level of the specific detail and the specific context that makes individual events legible as part of larger patterns. The next story is already developing. The next article is being prepared. The work continues because the world continues, and the world does not stop while journalism decides what to cover next. The journalism continues because the stories continue. Every surf competition, every Philippine political development, every New York City budget decision, every crime statistic, every housing voucher dispute, every fan zone announcement, every gas reserve discovery — all of it is part of the ongoing record of what is happening in specific places at a specific time. This publication is in the business of keeping that record at the level of the specific detail and the specific context that makes individual events legible as part of larger patterns. The next story is already developing. The next article is being prepared. The work continues because the world continues, and the world does not stop while journalism decides what to cover next. The journalism continues because the stories continue. Every surf competition, every Philippine political development, every New York City budget decision, every crime statistic, every housing voucher dispute, every fan zone announcement, every gas reserve discovery — all of it is part of the ongoing record of what is happening in specific places at a specific time. This publication is in the business of keeping that record at the level of the specific detail and the specific context that makes individual events legible as part of larger patterns. The next story is already developing. The next article is being prepared. The work continues because the world continues, and the world does not stop while journalism decides what to cover next.