A PROGRESSIVE coalition on Monday urged President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. to address the surge in fuel prices and its impact on basic goods in his first presidential order.
“The first executive order of the incoming Marcos regime should be related to suspending oil taxes and bringing down the prices of basic commodities,” Bagong Alyansa Makabayan (Bayan) said in a statement.
Bayan noted that two days before Mr. Marcos takes oath as the 17th Philippine president, “there will be another oil price hike, severely affecting consumers, the transport sector and the cost of transporting basic goods such as food.”
“The people demand immediate economic relief,” it said.
Bayan, along with various opposition forces, will hold a major demonstration at a people’s park located just a few kilometers away from the inauguration venue in the capital Manila.
Bayan said the protest will focus on these economic issues.
More than 15,000 security forces will be deployed during Mr. Marcos’ inauguration on June 30.
Bayan, meanwhile, slammed the Philippine police for asking protesters to instead hold online rallies on June 30.
“It is so hypocritical and stupid for the PNP (Philippine National Police) to call on groups to hold online protests instead of physical protests, when the State has sought to block our very presence online,” it said.
The Philippines’ telecommunications regulator recently asked internet service providers to block the websites of Bayan and several other organizations that the administration of outgoing President Rodrigo R. Duterte considers as enemies of the state.
“Even the space online is rapidly shrinking,” said Bayan, which is among the fiercest critics of Mr. Duterte. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
