BY BULATLAT
July 14, 2008 – 6:18 p.m.

Members of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) blockaded the main office of Pilipinas Shell in Makati this morning as a “display of resistance against the grave abuses of oil companies and the Arroyo regime.”

In a statement, Bayan said that protests will break out despite the “calibrated attempts to condition the public’s mind.” The group condemned Executive Order 731 and the statement of the Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) that riots over high prices are unlikely. Bayan branded these as efforts to preempt protests from “spreading like wildfire.”

Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued EO 731 last June 7 ordering the Isafp to monitor “political and security developments” triggered by the weekly oil price hikes.

Bayan reiterated its demand for the cancellation of the value-added tax (VAT) on petroleum products and the repeal of the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998 or RA 8479. The group said the removal of VAT will bring down oil prices by as much as seven pesos per liter.”These are the urgent policy reforms that will provide relief to the public that is being battered by worsening inflation and poverty and will protect the people from more abuses,” Bayan said. (Bulatlat.com)

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