Migrante Canada Statement of Support for the Nationwide Transport Strike in the Philippines

March 20, 2026

We, overseas Filipino workers and members of Migrante Canada, stand in solidarity with transport workers in the Philippines who have launched a nationwide strike against escalating oil price hikes.

Even while we are far from home, we feel this crisis deeply.

Every increase in fuel prices drives up the cost of food, transportation, and basic goods—placing greater pressure on our families who rely on our remittances to survive. What transport workers face on the roads, our families endure in their daily struggle to make ends meet.

This is not just a transport issue, it is a national crisis affecting the entire Filipino people.

We recognize that this crisis is rooted in a system that forces millions of Filipinos to leave the country in search of work. Labour export has become a survival strategy for a government that has failed to build a self-reliant economy. Now, rising oil prices further expose this dependence, as families are squeezed while corporations and oil cartels continue to profit.

We also condemn the imperialist wars and military aggression that drive global oil price instability. These conflicts do not only devastate nations—they ripple outward, worsening economic conditions in countries like the Philippines and deepening the conditions that force migration.

As migrants, we reject a system where:

Workers are displaced from their homeland

Families are separated for survival

And crises are passed onto the backs of the poor

We call on the Marcos Jr. administration to act urgently and decisively:

Roll back oil prices immediately

Remove VAT and excise taxes on petroleum products

Provide subsidies to transport workers and affected sectors

Ensure a living wage for all workers

Repeal the Oil Deregulation Law

We echo the call for an independent foreign policy that prioritizes the welfare of the Filipino people, not foreign military interests.

From Canada and across the globe, we raise our voices with transport workers in the Philippines.

Your struggle is our struggle.

Your fight is our fight.

Makibaka, huwag matakot.

Ibaba ang presyo, itaas ang sahod!