“It is important that the government increases the daily minimum wage of the Filipino workers.”
By Veronika BarbosaBulatlat.com
TACLOBAN CITY – With the rising prices on petroleum products, jeepney and tricycle drivers, local vendors, students and commuters in Leyte are suffering in various ways as Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced a National Energy Emergency.
For 74 years old Cipriano*, a jeepney driver from Mayorga town in Leyte, the continuous increase on diesel prices has affected his family’s daily sustenance.
“Before, we used to earn P600 ($10) to P700 ($11.60) ; now, we only get to take home P100 ($1.67) to P150 ($2.50) or even none at all,” Cipriano said.
He said that when the oil price hikes started, he was forced to spend at least P2,400 ($39.98) to P2,600 ($43.32) on diesel for two round trips from Mayor to Tacloban and back. The amounts are an astronomical leap compared to the P800 worth of diesel he used to allocate for two round trips.
“How can I support my family [including my grandchildren] with this measly income? I could barely even afford coffee. What we need is [government’s] understanding and for them to think of ways to aid us,” he said.
When asked about what he feels toward the government’s response to the crisis on oil products, Cipriano found it “ineffective” as “it left us (drivers) behind.”
Edgar*, a tricycle driver in downtown Tacloban City since 1995, described his current situation as “one of his worst experiences” throughout his life as a tricycle driver.
“I have been a tricycle driver for decades and so much has changed, especially now that the money I spend for gasoline is more than what I actually earn. Before, P200 ($3.33) worth of gasoline would suffice a day’s worth of trips. Now, I typically spend P500 ($8.33) or so, with me bringing home P100 ($1.67) or P200 ($3.33) daily,” Edgar said.
In the Tacloban Public Market, Aisa*, a chicken and frozen goods vendor since 2005, shared how the oil price hike affected her business. “Suppliers started increasing their prices with an additional P5 (less than $1) for every kilo of chicken, P10 (less than $1) for frozen goods and chicken parts.”
Similarly, Khen Harold Vañez, a vegetable vendor, noted how the increase on the prices of petroleum products cut their daily income by more than 50 percent. “The more that oil prices increase, all the more that the prices of vegetables that are being transported from other places continue to increase. For instance, carrots can be bought from P65 ($1.08) to P80 ($1.33) per kilo before, but now it jumped to P120 ($2) per kilo, prompting us to increase our prices as well.”
Both Aisa and Khen observed a decrease in the number of people buying their products.
Student Gene Peliño, who travels from Picas (a remote barangay in Tanauan, Leyte) to his school in Tacloban City, said, “There is a significant increase in the fare. From our barangay to the town proper, it used to be P30 (less than $1) for students, and it now went up to P40 (less than $1). It is a problem especially for a student like me who still depends on my parents for my allowance.”
Peliño noticed the rise in prices of basic goods and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) that they are now “forced to use firewood for daily cooking just to save money on gas.”
“It might not look like a direct effect, but there sure is a domino effect on the increase of oil products to students and commuters like me,” Gene said.
For Ruben*, 57, a modern jeepney driver from Alangalang, Leyte, he supports the abolition of the oil deregulation law and removal of the 12% Value-added Tax and excise taxes on oil products, stressing “that the government should have control over the prices of oil and ensure that it is lowered to prices that drivers could afford”.
Kabataan Partylist Eastern Visayas Regional Coordinator Kevin Maestre highlighted the need for a concrete solution from the government on the surge of oil prices. “The four-day work week is useless and nothing but a band-aid solution from the government. Instead, it has to focus on more comprehensive steps like repealing the oil deregulation law that removed the government’s control over oil prices in the country since 1998.”
Maestre stressed the importance of removing excise taxes and the 12% VAT, and taxing billionaires instead of “putting the burden on the Filipino people.”
“It is important that the government increases the daily minimum wage of the Filipino workers,” Maestre said.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Sinirangan Bisayas (Bayan-SB), in a statement, challenged the Marcos Jr. administration to heed the calls of the people and come up with better plans to help alleviate the lives of the entire Filipino people amid this oil crisis. (AMU, DAA)
*Real names withheld upon request.
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