Public transportation in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental resumed normal operations at about 2 p.m. yesterday with the protestors claiming success in bringing their demands to the attention of the government.

The United Negros Drivers and Operators Center and the Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Association held a two-day strike to demand government action against the rising prices of fuel.

UNDOC secretary general Jessie Ortega yesterday said their two-day transport strike already delivered a strong message to the government and its impact was felt all over the nation.

Ortega said they also had to shorten their protest to 1 p.m. instead of 3:30 p.m. because of the tension building up between the protestors and drivers who, he claimed, took advantage of the situation by continuing to pick up passengers despite their appeal for support.

He also cited the presence of unarmed elements of the Regional Mobile Group in some rally centers at about 10 a.m. especially along Magsaysay Avenue-Araneta Street , including policemen who were deployed in some of their rally centers in the city.

To prevent any tension between them and the policemen, Ortega said they decided to call off their protest.

He also said the drivers were already tired yesterday so they had to end their protest early so those who had not earned any income for two days could recover.

Ortega recalled that during their meeting with Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia, Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr., City police director Senior Supt. Ronilo Quebrar and Traffic Management Unit chief Senior Insp. Levy Pangue Monday to discuss precautionary measures to be implemented during the two-day transport strike, they were assured of maximum tolerance.

He said the transport strike was peaceful because no untoward incident happened. However, he is questioning the deployment of uniformed men in their rally centers, he said.

Quebrar said he received complaints from several jeepney and taxi drivers who claimed that they were being harassed by the protestors in rally centers especially along Magsaysay Avenue and Scala in Fortune Towne. So he sent the police to verify the complaints and to maintain order, he said.

“They should not be alarmed by the presence of the police if they are not doing anything wrong,” Quebrar added.

Tension also rose in Talisay City when the protestors tried to stop the drivers from continuing their operation, causing some passengers to alight from the jeepneys.

Meanwhile, Ortega said he believes the two-day strike was successful because Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes has warned oil companies to inform the Energy Regulatory Board before implementing any increase in the prices of oil. He said the ERB will first determine if the increase is reasonable or not.

“While the prices of oil in the world market have reduced and the value of the peso is improving against the dollar why do the oil companies have to increase the prices of fuel?” Ortega asked.

UNDOC deputy secretary general Nilo Frias said they demand the repeal of the Oil Deregulation Law, the reduction in the prices of oil products, the implementation of P125 per day for employees of private companies and P3,000 a month across-the-board wage increase for government employees, and the nationalization of the oil industry.

He said the two-day transport strike paralyzed 99 percent of public transportation in Bacolod City .

The Bacolod Sangguniang Panlungsod passed a resolution Wednesday supporting the call of the two transport sector for the immediate review of the Oil Deregulation Law to address the pathetic plight of the oil-consuming public due to the unabated and unreasonable increase of oil prices.

The resolution was authored by Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr.*CGS

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