Amidst yet another oil price hike, labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno called on workers and the people to protest the overpricing being carried out by the Big 3 oil companies and the Aquino government’s collusion with these, saying the rollback last week is too meager compared with price movements in the world market.
The Department of Energy announced today a P1.40 increase in the per liter price of gasoline and a P0.40 per increase in the per liter price of diesel and kerosene effective this midnight.
This comes after a less than P2.00 rollback in the per liter prices of oil last week, which legislators bewailed, saying the rollback should not be less than P5.00.
KMU said the small rollback shows the Big 3’s modus operandi in overpricing oil products, which it estimates to be around P9.00, accumulated since January 2008.
“Sobra na ang overpricing sa langis! Tama na ang panghuhuthot ng Big 3! (The overpricing of oil products has gone too far! Enough of the Big 3’s extortion!) Join us in our protests against the overpricing of petroleum products and the Aquino government’s connivance with the Big 3,” said Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU chairperson.
“It’s like the cartel of Petron, Shell and Caltex is arrogantly telling the Filipino workers and people: ‘Complain all you want, but you cannot stop us from hiking prices!’ Such arrogance should be met with fierce protests,” he added.
“The Big 3 hasn’t even implemented a rollback that corresponds to the significant decrease in oil prices in the world market, yet it is already ramming through another price increase,” Labog said.
KMU is scheduled to hold a march to Mendiola tomorrow, 23 August, to protest the overpricing of petroleum products and the Aquino government’s connivance with the oil cartel.
“The Aquino government deserves to be condemned by the Filipino workers and people for being in cahoots with the oil cartel. It has failed to thwart the overpricing being implemented by the Big 3 and has upheld the Oil Deregulation Law, which allows the oil companies to raise prices at will,” Labog said.
“The Aquino government is in fact benefitting from the workers’ and people’s misery from the overpricing of petroleum products and unabated increases in oil prices. Its Value-Added Tax collection has been boosted by overpricing and continuous increases,” he added.
“Overpriced ang langis sa matuwid na daan ni Noynoy. Manhid ang presidenteng ito sa paghihirap ng sambayanan (Oil is expensive in Noynoy’s straight path. He is impervious to the people’s misery),” he said. Elmer “Bong” Labog, KMU Chairperson
