Reactions on @dawende and @abi_valte tweets on transport strike

@jcmaningat alerted me to the tweet exchanges of Presidential spokeperson Edwin Lacierda and Abi Valte on the September 19 transport strike . “If the tweets Edwin Lacierda (@dawende) and Abigail Valte (@abi_valte) would be an indication, this government is getting more arrogant by the day. Not to mention that it is turning to Twitterverse to vent its cheap shots.” Let us examine some tweets:

From @dawende

Noticed how leftists are so onion-skinned? Tinawag lang perjuicio ang strike, pumputok ang butchi nila! Mahilig bumanat pero mga pikon pala!

And from @abi_valte

Number of people affected by strike: 16 RT @nerveending: uy, naapektuhan din ako; hirap pumasok kanina. Traffic sa Cubao.
Abi_Valte
September 19, 2011
“
Number of people who tweeted me about: 1)removing VAT on oil; 2)repealing Oil Dereg Law; 3)complaints about gov’t inaction on the strike–6

Carlo Ople also noticed the tweets and added that “He’s obviously free to say whatever he wants to say on Twitter but if things go wrong this could end up as another PR disaster for him.”

One thing Lacierda should know is that “… not all those who join strikes are leftists..” as @highreaching points out and should choose his words carefully. The leftists as well as right wing, conservatives, moderates are all citizens of the Philippines. @jcmaningat tells @dawende , “I also hope that you keep in mind that not all those who join strikes are leftists, so I suggest you choose your words carefully.”

It is understandable that both sides are frustrated. The promise of a review of the Oil Deregulation Law without any concrete action against the abuse of the kartel is useless and deceptive. This “review” should be done long ago.

Who wouldn’t be “pikon’?

The government can in fact immediately act on the oil price hikes by 1) immediately stopping oil price increases amidst clear proof of overpricing and abuse and file cases to effectively stop the oil companies from increasing prices, 2) lifting the VAT on oil to immediately lower oil prices, and 3) prioritizing legislation filed in congress scrapping the oil deregulation law and pushing congress to pass it immediately.

The government needs to see outside the usual “review”. These “leftists” are very much part of the citizenry. Everyone gets affected with the oil price hikes. Band-aid measures which will be rendered are utterly useless if oil prices continue to surge.

Read the reactions on @dawende and @abi_valte tweets that I curated via storify.