Transport groups in Negros Occidental yesterday said they will stage transportation strikes on May 12 and 13 to protest what they called the “unbearable” rising prices of oil.

Leaders of the United Negros Drivers Operators Center and Federation of Bacolod City Drivers Associations met yesterday to map out plans for their two-day strike that will start 5 a.m. Monday to 3 p.m. Tuesday, and culminate with a rally in front of the Fountain of Justice at the Bacolod City Hall.

Jessie Ortega, UNDOC secretary general, said strikers will demand the scrapping of the Reformed Value-Added Tax on oil and agricultural inputs to bring down the price of fuel and food.

If the VAT is scrapped, diesel prices that have reached P42.70 could go down by P5 and gasoline prices by P6, Ortega said.

Ortega said their group is also calling for the resignation of Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes for failing to solve the oil and energy problems of the country. “He is a military man who is not capable of running the energy department,” Ortega said.

Elizabeth Katalbas, FEBACDA president, said government has not been sincere about easing the burden of the transport sector and they cannot wait anymore, they must protest against what is happening.

She said they have not sought fare increases and will not have to do so if government acts on their demand for lower prices of fuel.

HOUSE MOVE

House Speaker Prospero Nograles this week directed the House Committee on Energy to convene and find ways to ease the burden of rising oil prices on the people.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella, vice chairman of the energy committee that is headed by Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo (Pampanga, 2nd District), yesterday said he has filed a bill in the House calling for the suspension of VAT for a year.

After the one year suspension, the bill of Puentevella states that the President, upon consultation with the secretaries of finance and energy, shall determine whether the 12 percent VAT on crude oil and finished petroleum products should be reimposed in full or on a staggered basis.

Puentevella’s House Bill 3397 seeks to classify transactions involving petroleum products as zero percent VAT transactions.

He noted that in 2007 there were approximately 20 price hikes for LPG, gasoline, diesel and kerosene as compared to about five rollbacks for these products.

The EVAT that took effect in November 2005 earned a net windfall of P38.9 billion in 2006 from the imposition of a 12 percent VAT on the importation and sale of crude oil and finished petroleum products, the solon said.

Due to this law Congress has contributed to the increase of oil prices, generating additional revenues but limiting the purchasing power of the consumer, and his bill seeks to correct this, he added.

Katalbas said her group plans on meeting with Puentevella today to air their concerns

“DO A HILLARY”

Senator Mar Roxas yesterday advised President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to consider opening the doors to a national debate on the fate of the 12 percent VAT on oil and oil products.

Roxas, chair of the Senate trade and commerce committee, in a press statement pointed to the ongoing debate in the United States sparked by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's proposal to suspend the $5 gas tax during the summer holiday

"She should 'do a Hillary' instead of putting the brakes on every single proposal to reduce or remove VAT on certain products. Our people have long been entitled to this debate because this it's their money that's involved," Roxas said.

"It would be refreshing to hear the President take the people's side on this issue," he added.

The 12 percent VAT on oil was imposed at a time when world prices were still at $30 a barrel, he said. Today, the price of crude oil has breached the $100-per-barrel mark, he pointed out.

He lamented that while the Senate ways and means committee led by Senator Chiz Escudero has held hearings on his proposal for a 6-month suspension in the collection of 12 percent VAT on oil, the Lower House has yet to hold a single hearing.

"Removing the 12 percent VAT on oil will likewise reduce the pump price of gasoline by P5 and that of an LPG tank by at least P60. This will provide temporary relief to all sectors of society as they will now be able to purchase more food and other needs, which the government will still be able to collect EVAT from anyhow," Roxas explained.*CPG

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