Thousands of passengers and vehicles were stranded Thursday morning in Metro Manila as a two-day nationwide transport strike for lowering oil price started.

According to the ABS-CBN news channel, school classes were also suspended for the strike staged by transport groups included Federation of Drivers and Jeepney Operators of the Philippines (FEJODAP), the Philippine Confederation of Drivers Organization-Alliance of Concerned Transportation Operators (PCDO-ACTO), and the Integrated Metro Manila Bus Operators Association (IMMBOA).

The groups are protesting continued oil price increases, the failure of government to provide fuel discounts and the unfair traffic policies being implemented by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), the TV report said.

The strike was also seen in the northern provinces including Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan and Bicol among others.

"We want prices to be rolled back because local prices have been going up even as prices of oil in the world market are going down," said a spokesman for the strike.

The strike was also supported by the rebel group of the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CCP).

NPA's spokesman Gregorio Rosal expressed in a radio interview his group's solidarity with the workers. "We are warning the police and military not to intervene."

The strike was also backed by the militant leftist New Nationalist Alliance as well as the New People's Army (NPA), the armed wing of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines, which has been waging more than three decades of Maoist rebellion.

To normalize the traffic, the government and police have deployed trucks and vans to pick up stranded passengers and commuters to their destination.

Earlier on Wednesday, Pilipinas Shell Inc. and Petron Corp. agreed to give a 50-centavo discount on diesel cost per liter, following an appeal by the government as effort to stop the transportation strike, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said.

"Petron and Shell committed to give discounts in the price of diesel," Ermita said.

Ermita said that the discount would be implemented in Shell's 50 and Petron's 54 gasoline stations in Metro Manila.

Source: Xinhua