MARCH 16, 2026 — Mark your calendars: March 19 isn’t just another Thursday — it’s the day PISTON, one of the country’s most vocal transport groups, will paralyze roads nationwide in protest. Their battle cry? Rising fuel prices triggered by Middle East tensions, and a government that, in their words, has been “inutil.”

“Ngayong darating po na March 19 ay idedeklara po natin at ilulunsad po natin, hindi lamang po sa National Capital Region kundi sa buong bansa,” declared PISTON president Mody Floranda. “Ang isang protesta at welga na pangungunahan ng driver, operator, at mamamayan laban sa pagkainutil ng administrasyon ni Bongbong Marcos, laban sa US aggression na kung saan ay nagdudulot ng pahirap sa mamamayang Pilipino.”

(This coming March 19 we will declare and launch, not only in the National Capital Region but nationwide, a protest and strike to be led by drivers, operators, and citizens against the incompetence of the Bongbong Marcos administration, against US aggression which is causing hardship to the Filipino people.)

Floranda didn’t mince words, blasting the Marcos administration for failing to shield ordinary Filipinos from global oil shocks. He also slammed the measly P5,000 cash aid for drivers, saying it barely covers a few days of fuel. 

Instead, PISTON is pushing for a P5 fare hike — an attempt to recover lost income as fuel costs eat away at daily earnings.

The group’s demands go deeper: scrap the Oil Deregulation Law, suspend excise taxes, and force oil companies to sell cheaper stocks before hiking prices. In short, they want systemic change, not band-aid solutions.

The thing is, every fare hike hits commuters hardest. A P5 increase may sound small, but for minimum wage earners who rely on jeepneys daily, that’s a painful dent in already stretched budgets. On the other hand, drivers argue they’re drowning in expenses, and without relief, the backbone of public transport could collapse.

The strike is more than a protest; it’s a reminder that the jeepney, the so-called “king of the road,” is also the pulse of the Filipino economy.

And when the wheels stop turning on March 19, whose side will you be on — the commuters tightening their belts, or the drivers fighting to keep their engines alive?

(Image: Piston: Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide | Facebook)