ENVIRONMENTALISTS AGAINST THE CORPORATE GREED OF OIL COMPANIES⛽
Environmentalists, along with jeepney drivers, staged an indignation protest in front of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Head Office Complex, where Petron Corporation’s headquarters are located, in Mandaluyong City in condemnation of the current fuel crisis that is exacerbated by corporate greed.
Protesters symbolically threw mud at the symbol of the oil magnate placed in front of its office. Simultaneously, PISTON also launched a nationwide protest and transport strike set to take effect on March 19.
Piston enjoins the sector of women in forwarding the calls for the removal of the 12% Value-Added tax on all basic commodities, excise tax, and other forms of taxation on fuel products. Furthermore, they demand for a price roll back of fuel to P55 per liter in conjunction with the filing of a petition for a P5 fare increase for PUVs.
They also mentioned the heavy burden placed by neoliberal policies such as Republic Act No. 8479, better known as the Oil Deregulation Law, which removed the government's ability to control the pricing of commodities from the oil industry and opted for a market-driven pricing. The law gave oil companies immense power to set oil pricing based on supply and demand.
According to Alex from Piston who spoke on behalf of the transport sector during the mobilization, large corporations such as Shell and Petron have exploited the fuel crisis for their own benefit. While the jeepney drivers struggle to make ends meet due to higher fuel prices, the largest corporations in the oil industry profit billions from their misery. Ramon Ang, he continues, is one of the individuals who benefit from such wars.
“Hindi na nakakabuhay ang kinikita namin sa taas ng presyo ng langis. Dahil dito, papagulungin namin ang Welgang Bayan hanggat di natatanggal ang excise tax at bumababa ang presyo ng mga bilihin,” states Alex.
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Sharon Garin stated in a media briefing that Philippine motorists should expect to see prices balloon as much as P23.90 per liter as war in the Middle East continues.
The Climate Change Network for Community-based Initiatives (CCNCI) maintains that the imperialist maneuvering of the United States is the root cause of the current crisis in fuel. Transit systems are the backbone of a functioning economy whose reliance on everyday commodities is made accessible by chains of different modes of transport.
The increase in fuel prices severely debilitates the capacity of these transit systems to function, necessitating a much higher upfront cost. This, in turn, affects the food security of communities who rely with import-dependent nations like the Philippines facing a sharp rise in prices of not just fuel prices but as well as the prices of everyday commodities.
Furthermore, US military spending sits at an all-time high at present with the Iran campaign costing an estimate of over $11.3 billion in just a week with statements from President Donald J. Trump hinting at a prolonged effort to retain war-efforts. Multiple reports breaking down the costs estimates that the US is spending over $1-2 billion dollars a day on the war.
Growing expenditures on war-efforts entails that US military emissions are also expected to rise exponentially. Research from the University of Utah revealed that US military emissions between 2010 and 2019 reached a total of over 636 million metric tons with this figure exhibiting an upward trend with the recent escalations on US war efforts on Valenzuela and in the Middle East.
CCNCI continues to condemn US-Israel War Aggression and joins in the fight against imperialism with the citizens of Iran. The struggle for climate justice is an anti-imperialist campaign that holds to account the biggest perpetrators of climate injustice across the globe. See less
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