LTFRB thumbs down P1 fare hike petition

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Friday denied the petition of the transport groups to increase by P1 the minimum fare.

With this, the minimum fare will remain at P9 for the first four kilometers.

The LTFRB issued a resolution rejecting the request by petitioners 1-UTAK, PASANG MASDA, ALTODAP AND ACTO which sought to increase the minimum fare from P9 to P14.

“In justifying its decision, the Board said it had to judiciously balance the rights of the riding public who are mostly dependent on the public transport system vis-à-vis the right of the operators to financial returns,” the agency said.

Despite recognizing the clamor of the public land transportation services, the LTFRB said it cannot be “insensitive” to the plight of Filipinos every time an increase on the prices of commodities occur, adding that “as a domino effect to the grant of fare increase.”

The agency also cited the stand of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) that proposing a fare increase would fuel inflammatory expectations.

“NEDA stated that any petition for fare adjustment, permanent or provisional, is a matter of paramount public importance as it will create an accelerated increase on the prices of basic commodities and services,” the LTFRB said.

To resolve the effect of the consecutive weeks of fuel price hike, the LTFRB said it started to credit fuel subsidies in the amount of P6,500 to public utility vehicles (PUVs) and will continue distributing subsidies until the end of March to 377,433 beneficiaries.

The agency said around P700 million have been disbursed to PUVs, including public utility jeepneys, as it continues to release the remaining amount of the P2.5 billion budget.

The Service Contracting Program, on the other hand, with a budget of P7 billion is set to commence next week once the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) releases the funds.

Meanwhile, after 11 straight weeks of hikes, motorists may expect a sigh of relief in the coming week as pump prices of petroleum products are projected to roll back big time.

Citing data of oil trading in the past four days based on the Mean of Platts Singapore, an oil industry source told GMA News Online on Friday that the price per liter of diesel may go down by P12.51.

Gasoline prices, meanwhile, may be slashed by P6.57 per liter.—LDF, GMA News