Student activists continued their protest against skyrocketing prices of petroleum products Friday. This time, they threw lubricants at the office of oil giant Petron Corp. in Makati City.
Members of Anakbayan, a youth activist group, condemned the oil firm as they tried to breach the perimeter of Petron. Security guards, however, were able to prevent them from getting near the building.
Andrew Zarate, Anakbayan-Natinal Capital Region spokesman, said the group will continue to hold protests until oil companies are forced to bring down the prices of their products.
During the protest, students cited the hardships that their parents have to endure so that they can cope up with the rising prices of basic goods caused by high oil prices.
After a 30-minute program, the activists marched on toward the Petron building and threw oil inside small plastic knotted bags.
The protest action Friday followed Thursday's walkout of students from their classrooms as they trooped to the streets and demanded the government to cut the 12-percent expanded value-added tax on oil products and withdrawal of the Oil Deregulation Law.
The two economic measures are being tagged by groups as the culprits in the weekly rise of prices of oil products.
Students from the University of the Philippines, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Philippine Christian University and Adamson University gathered on España Avenue in Manila and marched toward Don Chino Roces Bridge (formerly Mendiola), which is just a few meters away from Malacañang grounds.
The students, however, were blocked by anti-riot policemen and were forced to just conduct programs along Morayta Avenue.
The walkout was simultaneous with the start of a 18-day caravan protest of Anakbayan-Southern Tagalog, which started in Los Baños, Laguna.
Anakbayan members will march around Rizal, Quezon and Batangas provinces to urge more young protesters to join the caravan.
The march will end in Quezon City on July 28 as the youth activists plan to join other organizations that will hold protests during Mrs. Arroyo's State of the Nation Address later this month.
The group said they are protesting high tuition, and high prices of oil products and basic commodities, including rice.