LIST: Fare, utility service price hikes for April 2025

Filipinos should brace themselves for higher expenses this April as firms increase payment for utility services and a train fare hike.

Manila Water

Customers of east zone concessionaire Manila Water Company Inc. are expected to have higher water bills this month.

This was after the Waterworks and Sewerage System Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) approved an upward adjustment in the distribution utility’s tariff mechanism for the second quarter of 2025.

The agency approved a P0.04 per cubic meter hike in Manila Water’s Foreign Currency Differential Adjustment to P0.65 per cubic meter from P0.61 per cubic meter rate in the first quarter of 2025.

This would translate to an increase of P0.21 per month in the bills of those consuming 10 cubic meters, P0.45 increase for those using 20 cubic meters a month, and P0.90 for those consuming 30 cubic meters.

Meanwhile, west zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services Inc. deferred the implementation of its quarterly rate adjustment for the April to June 2025 period.

LRT-1 

Starting Wednesday, April 2, the Light Rail Transit Line (LRT-1) would implement a fare increase.

With the new fare matrix, the minimum fare will increase from P15 to P20 while a single journey end-to-end trip will be P55.

Private concessionaire Light Rail Manila Corp. justified the fare hike by presenting several improvements in the LRT-1 such as an increase in working light rail vehicles and systems upgrades.

Pump prices

Motorists welcomed the first week of April with another oil price hike.

In separate advisories, Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex), Petron Corp., Seaoil Philippines Corp. and Shell Pilipinas Corp. said they will increase the per-liter prices of gasoline by P1.40, and diesel and kerosene by P1.20 each.

Cleanfuel and Petro Gazz will implement the same adjustments, excluding kerosene, which they do not carry.

The Department of Energy earlier projected a big-time pump price hike this week, following the US sanctions on Iran, the threats of tariffs on nations buying Venezuelan crude oil, and the continued Russia, Ukraine attacks on energy installations.

Rollback: LPG

Meanwhile, two firms announced another round of price rollback on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products in April.

Solane said its LPG prices will decrease by P0.27 per kilo while Petro announced that its LPG prices will go down by P0.25 per kilo. —VAL/KG, GMA Integrated News