MANILA : Thousands of commuters were stranded across the Philippines on Monday as jeepney operators went on strike in protest at soaring fuel prices, reports and witnesses said.

Operators of the iconic vehicles -- originally made from World War II jeeps and the backbone of the country's land transport system -- called the one-day strike to support calls for price controls and tax relief on petroleum products.

Radio reports said commuters were stranded in the capital Manila and several other cities, with key urban centres in the central and southern Philippines affected.

The government deployed buses and other vehicles to offer free rides.

"Government must stop acting as if it is helpless. It repeatedly claims that the reasons behind the oil price hikes are global market forces that are beyond its control," Renato Reyes, leader of the leftist group Bayan that is backing the strike, said in a statement.

Officials in the southern province of Lanao on Mindanao island said up to 98 percent of public transport was paralysed, with shops and businesses closing for the day.

In Davao city, the biggest urban centre in Mindanao, nearly all of the 7,000 registered jeepney operators joined the strike, protest organiser Edel Gonzaga said.

Traffic Management Center officer Joel Fiel said up to 80 percent of road transport was paralysed in Davao, forcing the local government to cut short working hours.

President Gloria Arroyo has rejected calls to waive a sales tax on petroleum products and introduce subsidies to cushion the impact of pump prices on the poor, saying this would wreck the country's hard-won fiscal stability.

Police went on full alert, although there were no immediate reports of violence.

Police trucks, buses, troop carriers and tow trucks were also deployed to ferry stranded commuters.

- AFP/ms