The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said July 30 that it has started the deliberation on the fare hike petitions filed by five major transport groups, which have been raising concerns about a spike in their operational costs due to the series of big-time increases in the prices of petroleum products.
Aside from the ongoing deliberation, LTFRB chairman, Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, assured that the positions of various stakeholders will be factored in during the final deliberation and decision-making process on fare adjustment requests of transport groups.
“We are already reviewing and discussing all the pending petitions for fare hike…we have to come up with the recommendation the soonest possible time,” he said in a statement.
The fare hike petitions cover passenger jeepneys, passenger buses, UV Express, taxis and motorcycle taxis.
The petitioners are the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston), Metro Comet Transport Service Cooperative, UV Express National Alliance of the Philippines, United Transportation Coalition of the Philippines, and Manibela.
Mendoza said the goal is to come up with fare adjustments for each public utility vehicle sector that are acceptable to each of them, as well as the commuting public and other stakeholders.
Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez earlier tasked the LTFRB to recompute the appropriate fare adjustments based on pending fare hike petitions, particularly from transport groups Manibela and Piston.
In an earlier statement, the LTFRB said that instead of an interim adjustment given the price of petroleum products, the agency will come out with a final resolution in the soonest possible time.
Mendoza said various considerations will be factored in during the deliberation, including the inflationary effects and the capability of the commuters to pay for the adjusted fare hikes.
As part of the protocol, other stakeholders and government agencies are consulted before the recommendation of the LTFRB is submitted to the DOTr.
“We assure everybody that the LTFRB will always take the path of measures that recognizes the interest of the PUV sector but ensures that the welfare of commuters and the general public are also protected,” Mendoza stressed.
Fare increases for PUVs were supposed to take effect March 19, following steep hikes in the prices of petroleum products at the start of the US-Iran war.
But President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. suspended the scheduled fare hike implementation, noting that raising the minimum fare for public transport is inappropriate, given the burden that it may place on Filipinos, who are already feeling the effects of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
He had said the commuting public – mostly workers and students – cannot afford to suffer further, as they are already bearing the brunt of tensions in the Gulf region, which have driven up prices of fuel products and basic commodities. ||
